Burlington Stores raises full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77-$11.97
Company expects full-year comp sales growth of 3%-4%, total sales up 10%-11%
Burlington Stores expects Q3 adjusted EPS of $1.60-$1.70, comp sales up 1%-3%
Overview
US off-price retailer's fiscal Q2 sales rose 11% yr/yr, adjusted EPS beat analyst expectations
Company repurchased $87 mln in stock during the quarter
Company raised full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $11.77-$11.97
Result drivers
Operating margin expansion - Co said a 100 basis point increase in operating margin drove adjusted EPS growth
Gross margin improvement - Co reported gross margin rate increased 250 basis points yr/yr, with merchandise margin up 70 basis points excluding tariff refunds
Tariff refunds reinvestment - Co received $55 mln in tariff refunds in Q2, but plans to reinvest these funds in sharper value offerings for customers, making impact neutral to full-year earnings
The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 14 "strong buy" or "buy", 6 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"
The average consensus recommendation for the apparel & accessories retailers peer group is "buy"
Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Burlington Stores, Inc. is $375.00, about 19.4% above its August 26 closing price of $313.99
The stock recently traded at 24 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 27 three months ago
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