Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, home appliances and consumer electronics retailer Conn's
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Conn's and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Conn's facts
| Headquarters (founded) | Beaumont, Texas (1890) |
| Market Cap | $522.8 million |
| Industry | Computer and electronics retail |
| Trailing-12-Month Revenue | $801.2 million |
| Management | CEO Theodore Wright (since December 2011) CFO Brian Taylor (since April 2012) |
| Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) | (0.1%) |
| Cash/Debt | $6.7 million / $298.1 million |
| Competitors |
Best Buy Sears, Roebuck & Co. Wal-Mart Stores |
Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.
On CAPS, 13% of the 335 members who have rated Conn's believe the stock will underperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just last week, one of those Fools, jed71, succinctly summed up the bear case for our community:
This company relies on folks with crappy credit to come in and purchase appliances / mattresses on credit. This type of consumer loan is called PMSI (purchase money security interest) -- and it comes with much higher risks and default rates. ... Most of these terms have a hidden cost to consumers, which many do not fully understand. Conn's is getting themselves back into the same situation they were in during late 2008 / early 2009. ... You can see their cash from operations balances beginning to decline (quarter over quarter). I would be careful with this one -- if the US economy continues to falter, this one will fall fast and hard.
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Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the TrackPoisedTo CAPS account.
