Men's Wearhouse (NYSE:MW) once again stitched together a flawless quarter, thanks in large part to the successful acquisition of After Hours Formalwear.
Every major metric -- earnings, comps, margins, free cash flow -- improved upon the year-ago period. As a result, the company pushed its full-year guidance higher. With competitor Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ:JOSB) projecting growth of 10% next month, it looks like male shoppers are doing their part to help the economy.
In the second quarter, Men's Wearhouse improved earnings by 52.2% to $54.2 million, or $1 per share, easily topping estimates of $0.93 per share. Meanwhile, tuxedo rentals helped push revenue 23.6% higher to $569.3 million. Same-store sales inched just 1.1% higher in the U.S., but gained 8.4% in Canada. The lackluster comps growth is really my lone nit to pick. Expect this to continue, as the company is projecting annual comps for the U.S. to be flat or up 1%. With the gains it's made elsewhere, that's disappointing.
As far as annual earnings, Men's Wearhouse now expects to earn between $2.98 and $3.02 per share. That should suit analysts just fine, since they expect the company to earn just $2.95 per share for the year. With these new projections, the company should grow earnings by about 10% or 11% for the year.
Although Men's Wearhouse is doing virtually everything correctly, its stock doesn't suit me at its current levels. The stock price has jumped about 44% in the past year. Even with its increased guidance, it has a forward P/E above 17, which is slightly high considering its growth expectations. I also think it will be hard-pressed to maintain its growth once its After Hours business is included in comparative periods. In the meantime, though I risk looking silly, I'm staying away from Men's Wearhouse.
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Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own any of the companies in this article.
