The spread of estimates of how holiday sales did over the period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday is wide.� NRF�reported that�Thanksgiving Holiday spending reached $57.4 billion, which was a slight disappointment. Comscore reported that online spending from the start of November through December 11 was higher by 9% to $31.5 billion. (The research firm added that the number of weekends in 2013 was��different from last year, so perhaps online spending was really up 25%). Individual retailers have reported numbers which range from fantastic to horrible. Whatever the correct data are, the holiday retail sales season has gone from a marathon which started on November 1 to a sprint with only 10 days to go.
If the level of discounts offered by Walmart�(NYSE: WMT) is any indication, the largest retailer in the world has decided to continue to�use free shipping, which�can be�costly for the retailer, as a means to�gain customers. Its most attractive offer, at least for people who do not want to wait until the very last moment, is free shipping on any order of $35 or more. The catch, and there are several,�is that it will take 6 to 9 business days for those orders to arrive–which means they may barely make it before sundown on the 24th. Walmart�does not say what it costs to get orders as fast as it can deliver them–1 to 2 business days, Customers have to check directly with the retailer. The�cost may be too shockingly high for most Walmart�shoppers. So, does Walmart�really take much of a financial risk on shipping? Maybe not, when the fees are broken down by category.
Hot India Stocks To Invest In 2015: PostRock Energy Corporation(PSTR)
PostRock Energy Corporation, an integrated independent energy company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and transportation of oil and natural gas in the United States. It operates in two segments, Oil and Gas Production, and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Oil and Gas Production segment primarily focuses on the development of coal bed methane in the Cherokee basin and the Marcellus Shale in Appalachian Basin, as well as has oil properties in Central Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2009, it had approximately 51.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe) of estimated net proved reserves; development rights to approximately 516,184 net acres; and operated approximately 2,849 gross wells in the Cherokee Basin. It also had approximately 44,507 net acres of oil and natural gas producing properties with estimated proved reserves of 18.9 Bcfe and approximately 498 gross wells in Appalachian Basin; and had 65 gross wells, development rights to approximately 1,4 80 net acres, and estimated net proved reserves, 3.9 Bcfe in Central Oklahoma. The Natural Gas Pipelines segment involves in transporting, gathering, treating, and processing natural gas. It owns and operates a natural gas gathering pipeline networks of approximately 2,173 miles in the Cherokee Basin and 183 miles in the Appalachian Basin; and a 1,120 mile interstate natural gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from northern Oklahoma and western Kansas to the metropolitan Wichita and Kansas City markets. The company is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Eric Volkman]
LeBlanc is a veteran energy industry CFO. He has filled that role at East Resources -- now a unit of Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A ) -- as well as�PostRock Energy (NASDAQ: PSTR ) , and Range Resources, among others.
Top 5 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Take-Two Interactive Software Inc.(TTWO)
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. publishes, develops, and distributes interactive entertainment software, hardware, and accessories worldwide. The company develops and publishes software titles for various gaming and entertainment hardware platforms, including PlayStation3 and PlayStation2 computer entertainment systems, PlayStation Portable system, Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system, and Wii and DS systems, as well as for the personal computer and games for Windows. It offers products through its wholly owned labels Rockstar Games and 2K, which publishes titles under 2K Games, 2K Sports, and 2K Play. The company, through its subsidiary, Jack of All Games, also distributes software, hardware, and accessories in North America. Its proprietary brand franchises include Grand Theft Auto; Sid Meier's Civilization; Max Payne; Midnight Club; Manhunt; Red Dead Revolver; Bully; BioShock; Sid Meier's Railroads!; Sid Meier's Pirates!; Carnival Games; and Top Spin, as wel l as licensed brands comprise the sports games Major League Baseball 2K; NBA 2K; and NHL 2K. The company sells its software titles to retail outlets through direct relationships with large retail customers and third party distributors. Its customers include mass merchandisers, specialty retailers, video stores, electronics stores, toy stores, national and regional drug stores, and supermarket and discount store chains. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in New York, New York.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rick Aristotle Munarriz]
AFP/Getty Images This should be a great time for GameStop (GME). This month's introduction of Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox One should ring like dinner bells drawing diehard gamers to GameStop's stores. GameStop has assembled a network of 6,488 small-box locations across 15 different countries to cash in on moments like this. It has hosted midnight release parties for both consoles, and with demand exceeding supply, it's a safe bet that a lot of prospective buyers will be circling around their local GameStop locations as new systems arrive throughout the holiday shopping season. However, this may not be as jolly a holiday season as bulls were expecting this time. Blue Christmas GameStop delivered blowout quarterly results on Thursday morning. Sales and earnings clocked in ahead of expectations, but the stock still opened sharply lower because the chain served up a weak profit outlook for the new quarter. It has been seven and eight years, respectively, since Sony and Microsoft updated their consoles, and because of that, the holiday season is supposed to be huge for GameStop. The retailer is forecasting comparable store sales to grow by as much as 9 percent, and that may seem low since these new platforms aren't cheap. The Xbox One sells for $499. The PS4 fetches $100 less, but that price doesn't include the $60 camera accessory gamers will need to buy to get it up to speed with motion-based operations. However, the real shocker in GameStop's report is that it's only looking for a profit between $1.97 a share and $2.14 a share. Even at the high end, we're looking at earnings that are short of the $2.16 a share it earned a year ago and the $2.15 a share that Wall Street was expecting. The two likely culprits for the soft bottom line are weak software and pre-owned sales. And it remains to be seen if either of those two categories will truly bounce back. Thinking Outside of the Xbox Hardware has always been GameStop's lowest margin
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ: TTWO) shares tumbled 8.31 percent to $17.33 on weak Q4 forecast. Benchmark downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold.
- [By DailyFinance Staff]
Sales of video games and consoles have been sluggish, but shares of the game makers are soaring. The research group NPD reports that domestic sales of video games by retailers fell nearly 10 percent in the first-quarter. But investors are overlooking some middling performance and focusing on what they hope will be an exciting future. So far this year, shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) have both soared by more than 40 percent. Industry leader Electronic Arts (EA) is up 24 percent. And retailer Gamestop (GME) has beat them all, up 49 percent since the beginning of the year. Electronic Arts and Activision will report first quarter results this week, and analysts aren't expecting anything special. Invision for Xbox/AP Images So what's driving the stocks higher despite so-so performance? It's the expectation for a new round in the console war, with new Xbox and PlayStation models rolling out in time for the holidays. Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to unveil the new Xbox on May 21st. And we already know Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 will have touch-sensing controllers and a 'share' button to allow gamers to live-cast their play to friends. Sony is likely to release more details at next month's E3 videogame conference. In the meantime, though, console sales have slumped as gamers await the new models, or anticipate that current models will be deeply discounted. As for the game makers, they've had some high profile releases this year. EA has "Crysis 3" and "Dead Space 3". Analysts will be watching sales of those games when the company reports. EA has also been dealing with the surprise resignation in mid-March of its CEO. The company has not yet named a replacement. And the company warned that its earnings for the first-quarter were likely to fall short of Wall Street expectations. A fourth video game maker, THQ, filed for bankruptcy in December, and it's in the process of selling of its business in parts. The tepid offering of
Top 5 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PEI)
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), incorporated on September 29, 1997, is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). The Company has a primary investment focus on retail shopping malls located in the eastern half of the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic region. As of December 31, 2012, the Company owned interests in 46 retail properties, of which 42 were operating properties, three were development properties and one was classified as held for sale. The 42 operating properties, which are classified in continuing operations, include 36 enclosed malls and six strip and power centers, have a total of 30.7 million square feet and operate in 12 states. The Company and partnerships in which the Company owns an interest owned 23.9 million square feet at these properties (excluding space owned by anchors). The development portion of the Company's portfolio contains three properties in two states, with two classified as mixed use (a combination of retail and other uses) and one classified as other. In January 2013, the Company sold its interests in Paxton Towne Centre in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg Mall in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. In February 2013, the Company sold Orlando Fashion Square in Orlando, Florida. In November 2013, the Company sold Chambersburg Mall in Chambersburg, PA.
As of December 31, 2012, the Company had four properties, which were classified as held for sale, two of which were malls and two of which were power centers. The Company is engaged in the ownership, management, leasing, acquisition, redevelopment and development of enclosed malls. The Company's malls include national or regional department stores, large format retailers or other anchors and a diverse mix of national, regional and local in-line stores offering apparel (women's, family, teen, children's, men's), shoes, eyewear, cards and gifts, jewelry, sporting goods, home furnishings, drug stores, electronics and books/music/movi! es, among other things. Its malls have restaurants and/or food courts, and some of the malls have multi-screen movie theaters and other entertainment options, either as part of the mall or on outparcels around the perimeter of the mall property. In addition, its malls have outparcels containing restaurants, banks or other stores. It derives its revenue from rent received under leases with tenants for space at retail properties in its real estate portfolio.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust� (NYSE: PEI ) �reported first-quarter results yesterday that were below consensus expectations on the top line but came in ahead on the bottom line, causing the company to�raise guidance�for the full year.
- [By Marc Bastow]
Retail shopping mall real estate investment trust Pennsylvania REIT (PEI) raised its quarterly dividend 11% to 20 cents per share, payable on Dec. 16 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 2.
PEI Dividend Yield: 4.74%
Top 5 Shipping Stocks To Watch For 2014: The Hackett Group Inc.(HCKT)
The Hackett Group, Inc. operates as a strategic advisory and technology consulting firm primarily in the United States and western Europe. The company offers executive advisory programs, benchmarking, business transformation, and technology consulting services, as well as shared services, offshoring, and outsourcing advice. Its executive advisory programs consists of advisor inquiry, an inquiry service used by clients for access to fact-based advice on proven approaches and methods to increase the effectiveness of selling, general, and administrative processes (SG&A); best practice research, a research that provides insights into the proven approaches in use at organizations; peer interaction program comprising member-led Webcasts, annual Best Practice Conferences, annual Member Forums, membership performance surveys, and client-submitted content; and best practice intelligence center, an online, searchable repository of practices, performance metrics, conference presentat ions, and associated research. The company?s bench marking services conduct studies in the areas of SG&A, finance, human resources, information technology, procurement, enterprise performance management, shared service centers, and working capital management. These services are used by clients to establish priorities, generate organizational consensus, align compensation to establish performance goals, and develop the required business case for business and technology investments. Its business transformation programs help clients to develop coordinated strategy for achieving performance improvements across the enterprise; and Hackett Technology Solutions help clients choose and deploy the software applications that meet their needs and objectives. The company was formerly known as Answerthink, Inc. and changed its name to The Hackett Group, Inc. in January 2008. The Hackett Group, Inc. was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By ValueArtifex]
One such situation currently in the process of unfolding this month is a Dutch Tender by The Hackett Group (HCKT). I will briefly discuss the underlying business, what exactly a Dutch Auction (or in this case, a Tender) is, what options investors have when approaching this situation and how it could play out.
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