Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. (A) (RET.A-T)

It is a sector people hate. They are making money and have no debt. They closed a lot of stores - the worst ones. Some buy this stock just for the dividend.

Bought this a couple of years ago at $3.81. It had a nice run, and thought about selling, but didn't. Pays a dividend of $.05 a quarter. Recently, everything they have has been doing better. Market share has gone up a bit, their online has gone up, same-store sales have gone up quite a bit, but their overall revenues have gone down because they’ve closed a lot of stores. Have had quite a lot of problems with addition L, so have taken big write offs there, which made the previous black ink red. Where they are going to go with this chain, he isn’t sure. He’s happy to continue holding. His initial sell target was $15+, but wonders if that is way too high.

A large mall based women’s apparel retailer. It is a well run company but they had to endure a band environment as a retailer. They carry a lot of cash in investments and it serves as downside protection. If you think you saw the worst in retail investing then it may be a speculative buy.

This is on his Buy list. It pays a nice $.05 quarterly dividend. Just reported earnings, and looked really bad because their Addition L subsidiary, took a big write down of about $26 million. There are difficulties in the retail space, however their same-store sales were up on their bricks and mortars stores. They’re also up in terms of the Internet. This is a good fit.

Bought this about 2 years ago at $3.81. Retail, for the most part, is in the dumpster. This one has done okay, and is up about 20% since he bought it. Pays a dividend of $.05 a quarter. Has zero debt and skilled management. Internet sales have been going up like crazy, but they don't announce the numbers. He is happy to Hold it. Just lowered his target on it down to $14.24, from $16.24. Even with that, it may be a bit pie in the sky-ish. However, as more companies fold, that opens up space for them to get sales.

A long-established retailer, but is competitively weak. Its brick and mortar footprint is too big. The store count has come down from about 1,000 in 2011 to 670. That has arrested the same store sales decline. However, the overall consolidated sales really haven’t budged in 4 or 5 years. Return on invested capital is near zero, and the EPS is near zero. The dividend was cut in 2013 by 75%, and looks like it is vulnerable to a further cut.

They came out with fantastic results and then they took a beating. Get out as high as $15. Same store sales are going up nicely. He sees lots of upside.

This was a big winner for him as a Short in 2003, which he covered. He understands they have apparently gone into the gas station business along with their clothing line.

Just reported great numbers. For a long time their numbers had been awful. Same-store sales were going up, especially online. The company was getting hit because the US$ was going up so much. He can see this getting up over $15 again. Pays about a 3% dividend, and they have no debt on the books.

The whole discretionary space is getting a little soft. Chart shows a big downside from July to January followed by a base that gives a little bit of floor. The technical target is probably a little bit below its current price. If you know the story and the fundamentals really well, that is probably a better gauge than looking at technicals alone. His upside target is actually lower from here.

The period of seasonal strength for retail stocks is from January through to April, with another from October all the way through to the US thanksgiving holiday, the end of November. This past season, it broke the downtrend and started to consolidate. It is now bumping up against some of the major moving averages. It is trying to break out. You want to see it break out above its resistance of $5. Between April and October, these stocks don’t tend to do too much. There is support at $4.20, and that is your exit point if you are still holding it.