Courtesy of Benzinga.
Brain Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist of Belus Capital Advisors, wrote on Monday that an upcoming blizzard could hurt retailers' earnings results. The slow-moving winter storm is expected to hit the East coast on Monday evening, where areas such as New York City and Boston may receive up to 2 feet of snow.
Sozzi wrote, “Mall openings could be delayed, or locations outright closed for a day or two, as cleanup crews plow massive parking lots and retailers from Macy's (M) to Gap (GPS) seek to avoid putting their employees in harm's way. On the other hand, home improvement retailers Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) are poised to rake in extra sales from demand for snow blowers, rock salt and shovels.”
In the past intense storms have negatively impacted sales for major retailers as consumer enthusiasm for spring shopping and demand for raw materials for outdoor construction has declined. Last year, frigid temperatures and snow storms disappointed investors of the retail industry and this year may not be any different.
Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), Macy's, Inc. (NYSE: M), Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) and Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) were all slightly higher Monday afternoon.
Latest Ratings for LOW
Date | Firm | Action | From | To |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 2015 | Morgan Stanley | Upgrades | Equal-weight | Overweight |
Jan 2015 | Deutsche Bank | Maintains | Buy | |
Dec 2014 | Nomura | Initiates Coverage on | Neutral |
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Posted-In: Belus Capital Brian SozziAnalyst Color Analyst Ratings