Fall has arrived. Kids are back to school. Gas prices are low once again. The NFL season is underway. And the battle for your holiday shopping dollars is right around the corner. While many are getting ready for an end-of-year spending bonanza, putting together shopping lists and wish lists and making travel plans, investors are on the lookout for moneymaking opportunities. With the holiday season nigh and a holiday-fueled boost of spending perhaps headed their way, here are five companies worth considering right now.
A quick overview
Let's consider Target Corp. (TGT +0.35%), Kohl's Corp. (KSS +3.88%), The Walt Disney Company (DIS 0.20%), Iconix Brand Group (ICON +0.00%), and JetBlue Airways (JBLU 6.26%). Here is a quick look at the financials of each one:
| Company |
P/E (Trailing 12 Months) |
Forward P/E (Next Fiscal Year) |
1-Year Expected Earnings Growth |
5-Year Expected Earnings Growth |
Dividend and Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Target |
N/A |
15.3 |
9.1% |
10.2% |
$2.24 (2.83%) |
|
Kohl's |
12.1 |
9.8 |
9.7% |
6.7% |
$1.80 (3.77%) |
|
Disney |
21.3 |
18.3 |
10.2% |
14% |
$1.32 (1.32%) |
|
Iconix |
5.4 |
6.2 |
5.3% |
15% |
none |
|
JetBlue |
19.3 |
11.8 |
15.3% |
53.5% |
none |
Source: Yahoo! Finance.
These companies are all at different stages of business and therefore differ in valuation principle, dividend payout (if any), and growth model. The one thing they all have in common, though, is their reliance on consumerism and solid long-term growth prospects. Let's delve into each company individually.
Target: A big-box restructuring success?
We all remember Target's data breach in the last quarter of 2013. Perhaps you were affected. But the company has been aggressive in dealing with the situation, and share prices are up about 40% since their bottom in early 2014. Recovery efforts are still underway, though. In its latest effort, Target recently announced a competitor price-matching incentive to online shoppers for the coming holiday season.
The company continues to regain revenue, and while earnings are still negative over the past 12 months, the company is expected to return to profitability over the next year. Analysts expect about 10% earnings growth over the next five years, and the current dividend yield is an attractive 2.8%. I like Target's prospects for the next couple of years during its recovery phase.
Kohl's: A department-store value play
Department stores have been under fire the past few years. Investors in J.C. Penney (JCP +0.00%) had their scare, Macy's (M 0.45%) continues to close stores to improve profitability, and other traditional bricks-and-mortar retailers face similar struggles as the way the world shops shifts to the digital era.
And then there's Kohl's. Known by shoppers for its coupons and "Kohl's Cash," the company has struggled, reporting disappointing sales growth and a slowdown in consumer spending in household goods and apparel. Consumer spending trends tend to be cyclical, however, and with back-to-school shopping upon us and with winter around the corner, the busiest time of year for department stores has arrived. Kohl's is only expected to grow earnings in the mid-single digits over the longer term, but at nearly 10% in the next year. It also boasts a nearly 3.8% dividend yield. I believe the company will rebound this shopping season, and that dividend payment is nothing to balk at.
Disney: A multimedia conglomerate with solid growth expectations
Disney has also had its share of investor angst this past summer, mainly from worries that its media networks are suffering from TV cord-cutting. As a result, revenue from Disney's biggest TV network, ESPN, has been hit. Although the continued trend of turning off traditional TV services is worrisome, Disney still reported growth in those segments of its business and record net income and earnings in its third-quarter fiscal 2015 results.
Disney also has strong tailwinds in its studio entertainment division, which saw revenue up 13% in the third quarter of fiscal 2015. The company continues to roll out well-received movies under the Marvel Entertainment name, and the biggest payoff from its acquisition of the Star Wars brand has yet to be realized. As a result, analysts predict 14% earnings growth over the next five years.
Iconix: A diversified clothing company undergoing a restructuring
Iconix Brand Group manages a large stable of mostly apparel and accessories companies, including Mossimo, Ecko Unltd, Rocawear, and Badgley Mischka, to name just a few. Earnings for the second quarter of fiscal 2015 were down nearly 60% year over year, and share prices are down over 60% from a year ago.
In response to a decline in business, the company parted ways with its COO, CFO, and CEO this year and recently announced Peter Cuneo, the former head of Marvel Entertainment, as chairman of the board and interim CEO. While many investors don't like trying to catch a falling knife, and Iconix appears to fit that description at the moment, the time to buy a well-diversified company is when there's blood in the water. Earnings are expected to grow about 15% a year on average for the next five years, and trailing and forward P/E ratios are at a depressed 5.4 and 6.2, respectively. I like Iconix as a potential long-term recovery story.
JetBlue: An airline taking advantage of the holiday vacation season
JetBlue, along with other airline operators, has had a strong run over the past couple of years. Shares are up over 60% year to date as Americans get back to going on vacation. According to the Department of Transportation, 2015 has seen total airline passenger numbers reach highs unmatched since 2009. It also reports that discount carriers, of which JetBlue is one, increased total market share to over 25% of all U.S. airline traffic, compared with well under 20% a decade ago. Primarily operating in the U.S. East and Southeast, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, and Latin America, JetBlue stands to benefit from the holiday vacation season as travelers look to temporarily escape the cold this winter.
