Hold on to these retailers for now

Article Excerpt

These two companies own some of the top brands in the fashion industry. However, recent payroll tax hikes have lowered most Americans’ take-home pay. That could hurt clothing sales. LIMITED BRANDS INC. $44 (New York symbol LTD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 288.4 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.- limitedbrands.com) owns the Victoria’s Secret lingerie chain and the Bath & Body Works personalcare products stores. Limited is restructuring the La Senza lingerie chain in Canada, including closing a third of its stores (it now has 158 outlets) and shifting its focus to younger shoppers. In its 2013 fiscal year, which ended February 2, 2013, Limited’s sales rose just 0.9%, to $10.5 billion from $10.4 billion in 2012. That’s mainly because it closed 65 stores, bringing its total down to 2,876. However, same-store sales rose 6%, including 7% gains at both the Victoria’s Secret division, which includes La Senza, and…