Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
What: Shares of the Vitamin Shoppe (VSI) were looking healthier today, gaining as much as 14% on a strong third-quarter earnings report.
So what: Sales at the nutritional-products retailer jumped 14%, while EPS improved by 35% to $0.54, well ahead of Wall Street estimates at $0.45. Same-store sales grew briskly by 9.6%, and online sales climbed 17%. In total, the company expects to open 52 stores this year and 57 more in 2013, and it's eyeing mid-single-digits comps for next year. Vitamin Shoppe currently has about 550 retail locations.
Now what: Shares of the retailer aren't cheap, with a P/E of 31, but its latest quarterly report seems to show why. With a solid growth plan through new stores, increasing same-store sales and online revenue, the stock could continue to push higher in the years to come. I'd like to see better than 14% revenue growth for a company with this kind of valuation, but otherwise there's nothing to complain about here.
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