Piper Jaffray Remains Sidelined as Wolverine World Wide's (WWW) Says Consensus EPS is High

Piper Jaffray reiterated a Neutral rating on Wolverine World Wide (NYSE: WWW), and raised the price target to $18.00 (from $17.00), following the company's 1Q earnings call. Wolverine indicated that management is was comfortable with the consensus mark for Q2 revenue ($577M) but highlighted that the consensus EPS of $0.25 is higher than its plan. On the call management noted the overall wholesale channel in the U.S. and Europe remained challenged behind higher inventory, changes in consumer spending, and select retail bankruptcies domestically.

Analyst Erinn Murphy commented, "We are reiterating our Neutral rating on shares post the Q1 call. Importantly, the company released segment information as well as gave some guidelines for Q2 guidance. Mgmt indicated it was comfortable with the consensus mark for Q2 revenue ($577M) but highlighted consensus EPS at $0.25 is higher than its plan. We are leaving our $0.23 estimate unchanged. Q1 continued to be plagued by a tough wholesale environment, choppiness in some of the int'l distributor markets and was affected by a transition to a new Canadian warehouse. While inventory was high, mgmt sees inventory levels flat by Q2-end. While current Q2 reorders have started to pick up, the company reinforced their partial lack of visibility with 2H given the macro retail environment. We are raising our PT slightly (from $17 to $18) but need to see more consistent execution and opt to stay on the sidelines."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Wolverine World Wide click here. For more ratings news on Wolverine World Wide click here.

Shares of Wolverine World Wide closed at $18.93 yesterday.

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