Close

Strong Retail Sales Helps Drive Today's Gains

March 1, 2012 1:15 PM EST
As it is the first Thursday of the month, coincidentally also the first of the month, retail companies reported their February retails figures. Following the release, the Spider S&P Retail ETF (NYSE: XRT) is trading 1.43 percent higher. Auto sales were also reported today, similarly showing nice gains. The First Trust NASDAQ Global Auto Index Fund (Nasdaq: CARZ) is also trading up 1.15 percent today.

Figures for the month of were strong as only a few companies posted declining comparable store sales or total sales. The solid results go inline with recent jobless claims report , which also indicate an improving economy.

Within the Specialty Apparel Sector:
  • The Buckle (NYSE: BKE) reported sales of $86.7 million in February, an increase of 17.4%. Comps were up 14.8% for the month.
  • Cato Corporation (Nasdaq: CATO) reports sales of $83.9 million in February, a decrease of 3%. Comps were down 5% for the month.
  • The Gap (NYSE: GPS) reports sales of $874 million in February, an increase of 6%. Comps were up 4% for the month.
  • The Limited (NYSE: LTD) reports sales of $653.9 million in February, a decrease of 2.5%. Comps were up 8% for the month.
  • Ross Stores (Nasdaq: ROST) reports sales of $677 million in February, an increase of 14%. Comps were up 9% for the month.
  • Saks Inc. (NYSE: SKS) reports sales of $207.9 million in February, an increase of 6%. Comps were up 6.6% for the month.
  • Tandy Leather Factory (NYSE: TLF) reports sales of $5.8 million in February, an increase of 15%. Comps were up 20% for the month.
  • TJX Co. (NYSE: TJX) reports sales of $1.6 billion in February, an increase of 12%. Comps were up 9% for the month.
  • The Wet Seal (Nasdaq: WTSLA) reports sales of $46.7 million in February, a decrease of 3%. Comps were down 5.8% for the month.
Within the General Merchandise Sector:
  • Bon-Ton (Nasdaq: BONT) reports sales of $199.4 million in February, an increase of 0.9%. Comps were up 0.7% for the month.
  • Costco (Nasdaq: COST) reports sales of $7.04 billion in February, an increase of 10%. Comps were up 8% for the month.
  • Duckwall-ALCO (Nasdaq: DUCK) reports sales of $36.5 million in February, an increase of 3.4%. Comps were up 1.1% for the month.
  • Fred’s (Nasdaq: FRED) reports sales of $159.1 million in February, an increase of 4%. Comps were down 0.7% for the month.
  • Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) reports sales of $1.17 billion in February, an increase of 1.1%. Comps were down 0.8% for the month.
  • Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reports sales of $1.86 billion in February, an increase of 5.5%. Comps were up 4.6% for the month.
  • Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN) reports sales of $704 million in February, an increase of 16.2%. Comps were up 10.2% for the month.
  • Pier 1 Imports (NYSE: PIR) reports sales of $477 million in February, an increase of 11.8%. Comps were up 10.3% for the month.
  • Stage Stores (NYSE: SSI) reports sales of $101 million in February, an increase of 7.1%. Comps were up 3.7% for the month.
  • SteinMart (Nasdaq: SMRT) reports sales of $80.7 million in February, an increase of 0.3%. Comps were up 0.7% for the month.
  • Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) reports sales of $5.13 billion in February, an increase of 8%. Comps were up 7% for the month.
Within the Automotive Sector:
  • Chrysler Group LLC reported its February sales rose 40% as the number of vehicle deliveries increased from 95,102 to 133,521.
  • Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) posted a 14 percent increase in February U.S. sales versus year-ago levels, with 179,119 vehicles sold; retail sales increased 19 percent.
  • General Motors (NYSE: GM) reported total sales of 209,306 vehicles in February, up 1.1 percent compared with the company’s very strong February 2011 results.

  • Honda Motors (NYSE: HMC) reported unadjusted February vehicle sales rose 12%.

  • Nissan (OTC: NSANY) reports 15.5% rise in North American auto sales during February.


Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Economic Data, Retail Sales

Related Entities

Chrysler LLC, Standard & Poor's