Topic: Growth Stocks

Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline – Friday, July 4, 2014

Article Excerpt

PETSMART INC., $67.28, Nasdaq symbol PETM, operates 1,340 pet stores in the U.S. and Canada. It also has 200 in-store PetsHotel boarding facilities for dogs and cats. The stock jumped 12% this week on news that activist investment firm Jana Partners now owns 9.9% of the company. Jana has a history of pressuring companies to improve shareholder value, typically by spinning off certain operations, buying back more shares or raising their dividends. PetSmart currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.195 a share, for a 1.2% annualized yield. Jana could also encourage PetSmart’s management to sell the entire company. Whatever the outcome, Jana’s involvement should keep drawing investor attention to PetSmart’s strong brand and balance sheet. PetSmart is still a buy. PetSmart was recently covered in the Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline for May 23, 2014. Click here to access it. PetSmart was recently covered in the Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline for March 7, 2014. Click here to access it. HILLSHIRE BRANDS CO., $62.68, New York symbol…