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4 Retail Stocks To Watch Before May 2021

With economic recovery boosting consumer spending, could these retail stocks be a bang for your buck?

Are These Top Retail Stocks Worth Investing In Ahead Of May 2021?

It would not surprise me to see that retail stocks are among the most active stocks in the stock market today. For the most part, this would be thanks to investor optimism on retail businesses booming in a post-pandemic world. To begin with, as vaccination rates continue to increase, consumers would feel more comfortable going out. This would help boost brick-and-mortar store sales figures for retail players across the board. At the same time, consumer spending remains healthy on account of the latest round of stimulus checks. Given all of this, I can imagine that investors are actively looking for the best retail stocks to buy in the market now.

Meanwhile, some of the largest names in the retail industry are in focus during this earnings season. Take Shopify (NYSE: SHOP) for example. Notably, Shopify reported stellar figures across the board in its recent quarter fiscal yesterday. The company saw revenue more than double compared to the same quarter last year. Elsewhere, investors could also be eyeing e-commerce craft supplies giant Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) which will be reporting earnings next week. Indeed, the demand for e-commerce is now propelling these retail names forward. The real question now is whether consumer demands will remain at these levels as retailers attempt to navigate the post-pandemic market. Nevertheless, could one of these hot retail stocks in the stock market be worth noting now?

Top Retail Stocks To Buy [Or Avoid] Now

Costco Corporation

Costco is a multinational corporation that operates a chain of membership-only retail stores. As of 2020, the company is the fifth-largest retailer in the world and the world’s largest retailer of choice and prime beef. Impressively, it is also ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue. COST stock currently trades at $373.56 going into Thursday’s closing bell and is up by over 10% since the start of March. Amidst the pandemic last year, Costco was deemed essential for obvious reasons. As consumers stocked up on essentials, the company came out from 2020 as one of the biggest winners in retail.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

Last month, the company reported its second-quarter financials for fiscal 2021. In it, the company reported that net income for the quarter was $951 million or earnings per share of $2.14. Its e-commerce segment for the quarter was up by 75.8% and contributed to this impressive quarter. Total revenue for the quarter was $44.76 billion, a 14.5% increase year-over-year. Earlier this month, the company also announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.79 per share. Given how the company is a clear leader in retail, will you consider buying COST stock?

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Overstock.com

Overstock is an online retailer and technology company that is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company sells a broad range of new home products at low prices, including furniture, décor, bedding, and home improvement among others. Impressively, its online shopping site is visited by tens of millions of customers every month. Its website also provides a marketplace to provide customers access to millions of products from third-party sellers. OSTK stock currently trades at $74.53 as of 3:50 p.m. ET and is up by over 5% during Thursday’s power hour session. Investors seem to be responding to the company’s first-quarter 2021 financial results that were reported today.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

In it, Overstock posted net revenue of $660 million, a 94% increase year-over-year. Gross profit for the quarter was $154 million or 23.3% of total net revenue. The company also reported a diluted earnings per share of $0.56. Overstock also reported that it ended the quarter with $535 million in cash. Operational highlights include a 92% increase in active customers year-over-year to 9.9 million. It also made 3.6 million orders during the first quarter, an increase of 66% year-over-year. Given the growth that the company is currently enjoying, will you consider adding OSTK to your portfolio?

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Target Corporation

Target is a retail corporation that is one of the largest retailers in the U.S. The company has stores in all 50 U.S. states and employs over 350,000 team members. It claims that 75% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Target store, so it has a wide audience on paper. Its general merchandise stores offer food assortment, dairy, and frozen items while its digital channels include a range of general merchandise. TGT stock currently trades at $207.37 as of 3:51 p.m. ET and has been up by over 80% in the last year.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

Last month, the company reported its fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 financials. Firstly, the company posted a total revenue of $28.3 billion, a 21.1% increase year-over-year. Comparable sales grew by 20.5%, reflecting comparable traffic growth of 6.5%. Its digital comparable sales grew by a whopping 118%, accounting for two-thirds of the company’s overall comparable growth. Target also posted an earnings per share of $2.73 for the quarter as it continues to gain market share across all five of its core merchandising categories. With that in mind, will you consider buying TGT stock?

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L Brands Inc.

L Brands is a fashion retailer that is based in Ohio. Its flagship products include Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. It operates over 2,500 specialty stores in the U.S., Canada, and Greater China in more than 700 franchised locations worldwide and through its websites. LB stock currently trades at $66.73 as of 3:52 p.m. ET and is up by over 400% in the last year.

Source: TD Ameritrade TOS

Last month, the company increased its first-quarter earnings guidance due to improved sales trends. This seems to result from government stimulus payments and relaxation of coronavirus restrictions and other factors. L Brands is now expecting topline earnings per share of $1.00 versus its previous topline of $0.65.

In February, the company reported its fourth-quarter financials. Operating income for the quarter was $1.273 billion and net income was $860.3 million. On an adjusted basis, the company reported an earnings per share increase of 61% to $3.03. Impressively, its Victoria’s Secret operating income doubled to $403.4 million. With such impressive financials, is LB stock worth buying?

By Adam Lawrence

Adam Lawrence is a serial entrepreneur and financial writer for StockMarket.com. He calls Miami, Florida his home but has a love for travel. He started his first digital marketing and website design business, in 2006 at the age of 23. He has worked with and consulted for hundreds of publicly traded companies. His vast knowledge of the public markets has allowed him to gain real-world experience in corporate communications. No matter what is going on in the stock market today, Adam is at the front of the line to track new trends and present them to readers.

As an active contributor to other financial sites like GuruFocus and Benzinga, Adam has gained prominence for reporting on several topics. These include biotech stocks, technology stocks, gold stocks, as well as marijuana stocks. These active stock market sectors have presented investors with some of the biggest opportunities in the stock market today. Adam's goal is to present readers with easily digestible content that is both informative and actionable.

Adam's years of experience in digital marketing have helped give him an edge above other financial writers. His ability to pick up on stock market trends before they hit Main Street is one of the things that has afforded him the opportunity to interact with and engage public companies. Reporting on current events is one thing but being able to dissect them and translate them for readers is of the utmost importance. In doing so, Adam has set a personal standard to deliver timely information that dives deeper than simple headlines and goes into the fine details of what's driving stock market trends. He also stays on top of the most current social media trends among top influencers.

With the emerging landscape surrounding new media, Adam takes an active approach to learn what drives interest in different social media and finds ways to tap into whatever is trending at that time then apply it to his approach to the stock market. In his free time, he enjoys being with his family and working on his house. He's also an avid car enthusiast.

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