Ethan Allen Interiors, Movado Group, Amazon.com, Google and Facebook highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
CHICAGO, Nov. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks Equity Research highlights Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH-Free Report) as the Bull of the Day and Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV-Free Report) as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report), Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) and Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report).
Here is a synopsis of all five stocks:
It's been 2 years since Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. (NYSE:ETH-Free Report) was a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The furniture retailer recently easily beat the Zacks Consensus in the fiscal first quarter and analysts have been raising full year estimates.
Furniture is back!
Ethan Allen is an upscale home furnishing retailer. It operates 300 design centers in the United States and overseas. It also owns 8 manufacturing facilities, including 5 in the United States, along with a sawmill, and one each in Mexico and Honduras.
On Oct 21, Ethan Allen reported its fiscal first quarter results and blew by the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the second quarter in a row. Earnings were $0.44 versus the consensus of $0.35.
Sales rose 5% to $190.7 million compared to the first quarter last year. Retail net sales rose 2.3% while wholesale saw even better numbers, with sales rising 10.1%.
Gross margin rose 60 basis points to 55% year over year.
It's shipped 80% of its fall collection which will have over 600 new items.
A lot of time and energy has gone into the company's new web site. It finally launched on Oct 15. Internet shopping is now the norm. While it may seem counter intuitive that shoppers would buy furniture online, Williams-Sonoma now sees 51% of its total revenue from online purchases.
The company had tightened advertising spending but will now ramp it up into the second half of fiscal 2015, which is the beginning of next calendar year.
Are watch sales really that bad? In a surprise move, Movado Group Inc. (NYSE:MOV-Free Report) recently guided lower for the full year as it blamed softening in the watch category. It has fallen to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as analysts moved to cut estimates.
Movado Group makes watches in its Switzerland manufacturing facilities under the brands Movado, Ebel, Concord, ESQ Movado, Coach, Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, Juicy Couture, Lacoste and Scuderia Ferrari. It also operates Movado company stores in the United States.
Movado focuses on the upscale watch market, which has been holding up well in the face of economic weakness in Europe and now in Asia.
However, on Nov 14, Movado shocked the Street by announcing preliminary third quarter sales which were below analyst forecasts.
Net sales for the third quarter are expected to fall to $188.6 million from $189.7 million a year ago. For the full fiscal year, net sales are only now expected to increase by 1% to 2%.
The company blamed it on slower growth in the overall watch category and that retailers are "focusing on driving improved productivity."
Additional content:
Amazon Deploys Holiday Robots
Several of e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc.'s (Nasdaq:AMZN-Free Report) warehouses seem to be invaded by an army of robots, as promised by Jeff Bezos, its chief executive officer ("CEO"). In May, Jeff Bezos, had announced that the company is expecting to deploy an army of nearly 10,000 robots at its warehouses worldwide by the end of 2014.
The robots are built by Amazon's subsidiary Kiva Systems, which it had acquired two years ago for $775 million in a bid to increase the level of automation in its warehouses. The robots made by Kiva comprise mobile shelving systems that automatically transport items to workers.
The deployment of robots decreases the time taken to sort and pack products, thereby strengthening its same-day or overnight delivery services. A picker's speed maybe expected to increase 3X, since Amazon expects each picker to scan at least 300 items an hour compared to 100 scanned previously.
The robots can help Amazon to easily cater to demand during the peak holiday season, when it has high customer traffic. The holiday season is crucial for Amazon as sales in November and December account for a major part of its annual revenues.
Moreover, with Amazon announcing bigger and better seller holiday deals this year, faster sorting and packaging operations have become essential.
Moreover, Amazon has been expanding its fulfillment centers around the world. The increase in the level of automation can help Amazon simplify operations, save time and reduce fulfillment costs.
Amazon seeks to be the most customer-focused company and therefore has been striving to beef up its delivery system in order to provide better customer services. In relation to these efforts, Amazon has plans to develop a drone-based delivery service wherein it will deploy airborne robotic drones to deliver packages to consumers in 30 minutes. In July, Amazon had requested the Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") for permission to fly drones out of their test facility.
While robots are already working at fulfilling orders in the warehouse, their broader use could be a few years out since current laws do not allow their private operation and Amazon likely doesn't have a finished product just yet.
Other companies interested in this dynamic world of robotics include Google (Nasdaq:GOOGL-Free Report) and Facebook (Nasdaq:FB-Free Report).
Amazon holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
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