2-Star Stocks Poised to Plunge: TJX?

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Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, discount retailer TJX (NYSE: TJX) has received a distressing two-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at TJX's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

TJX facts

Headquarters (Founded)	Framingham, Mass. (1956)
Market Cap	$16.3 billion
Industry	Apparel retail
Businesses	T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods, A.J. Wright, Winners, HomeSense
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$19.24 billion
Management	CEO Carol Meyrowitz (since January 2007) CFO Jeffrey Naylor (since January 2009)
Cash/Debt	$1.56 billion/$1.19 billion
Year-to-Date Return	89.3%
Competitors	Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) Target (NYSE: TGT) Macy's (NYSE: M)
CAPS Members Bearish on TJX Also Bearish on	Sears Holdings (Nasdaq: SHLD) The Gap (NYSE: GPS)
CAPS Members Bullish on TJX Also Bullish on	Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 16.8% of the 369 members who have rated TJX believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bears include All-Star 00100, who is ranked in the top 5% of our community, and BearTill2012.

Less than two months ago, 00100 concluded that TJX's negatives outweigh the positives:

Downthumb. High valuation. But good cash flow and low debt. Good payout ratio (21%). Mediocre growth rate. Low profit margins compared to peers, but better return on investment. Insider sales.

In a pitch from last month, BearTill2012 also demands more of a discount for the discounter:

In order to justify the current price, the trend of trading down would have to become entrenched and I just don't see that happening without further economic deterioration. Should we start to see decent economic growth then I think that some of the customers who have traded down will start shopping at the higher end stores again. If the economy does go into a double dip recession, then I think that some of their core customers who shopped there before the recession hit, are going to decrease their spending more than what the company gains from other customers trading down.

What do you think about TJX, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!