this article is dated dec 22 for the record
Robinson-Humphrey Cuts Just For Feet 4Q View By 4c To 25c
Dow Jones Newswires
No further information is available at this time.
No further information is available at this time.
No further information is available at this time.
By Mark Yost
RICHMOND, Va. (Dow Jones)--Just For Feet Inc. (FEET) shares fell almost 10% Tuesday on heavy volume after Robinson-Humphrey analyst David G. Magee cut his fourth-quarter earnings estimate to 25 cents from 29 cents.
A First Call Corp. survey of seven analysts expects the Birmingham, Ala., specialty athletic footwear retailer to report fourth-quarter earnings of 26 cents a share.
Magee left unchanged his full-year 1999 estimate of $1.40 a share.
In a research note issued Tuesday morning, Magee cited Just For Feet's temporary problems with its integration of Sneaker Stadium, which it acquired in July, as part of the reason for the reduced earnings estimate.
"Although business at the core Just For Feet stores is fairly strong, the Sneaker Stadium acquisition has had some initial integration challenges that I think are very temporary," Magee told Dow Jones Tuesday. "I wasn't looking for accretion, but we hadn't changed our fourth-quarter numbers to reflect the Sneaker Stadium acquisition. Given the short-term problems, which took the net off the upside potential, we thought it more prudent to become more conservative in our estimate."
In his research note Tuesday, Robinson-Humphrey's Magee said Just For Feet's superstores "are performing very well, probably better than plan in comp sales and gross margin."
The chain's specialty stores, which sell athletic footwear, aren't performing well because of "uneven holiday shopping patterns thus far," he said. But specialty stores constitute only about 10% of Just For Feet's overall business, he said.
Just For Feet has roughly 135 superstores, which sell athletic and outdoor footwear as well as apparel, and 130 specialty stores.
Of the 24 Sneaker Stadium stores that were recently re-opened as Just For Feet stores, Magee said sales trends "appear to be improving, and increasingly will benefit from putting better inventory levels in the stores." Another 15 Sneaker Stadiums currently are being converted to Just For Feet stores.
Magee also said that Just For Feet's multiple continues to be effected by investor's uneasiness with the uncertainty of the sneaker retail business and Just For Feet's integration efforts.
"We believe that the sector is ripe for further consolidation, and Just For Feet, in our opinion, will be one of the survivors," he said.
Tuesday marked the second day of downside trading for Just For Feet. On Monday, shares fell 1 1/8, or 6.4%, to close at 16 1/2. Recently, shares were trading at 14 15/16, down 1 9/16, or 9.5% on Nasdaq volume of 1,566,900, compared with average daily volume of 364,548.
- By Mark Yost; 804-698-7385
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