There are more than 500 national retailers traded on the NYSE and the NASDAQ. Given the sheer number of big box stores, warehouse clubs, restaurant chains and other retail stores listed on public markets, it can be hard to identify which retailers are going to outperform the market.
Fortunately, some of Wall Street's top analysts have already done most of the work for us.
Every year, analyst issue approximately 4,200 distinct recommendations for retail companies. Analysts may not always get their "buy" ratings right, but it's worth taking a hard look when several analysts from different brokerages and research firm are giving "strong buy" and "buy" ratings to the same retailer.
This slide show lists the 8 retail companies that have the highest average analyst recommendations from Wall Street's equities research analysts over the last 12 months.
#1 - Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 31 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $140.44 (-11.6% Upside)
Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the Company is engaged in online and mobile commerce through offering of products, services and technology that enable merchants, brands and other businesses to transform the way they market, sell and operate in the People's Republic of China (China) and internationally. Its businesses consist of core commerce, cloud computing, mobile media and entertainment, and other innovation initiatives. Through investee affiliates, it also participates in the logistics and local services sectors. Retail commerce in China operated by the Company includes the China online commerce destination (Taobao Marketplace); the China third-party platform for brands and retailers (Tmall), and the sales and marketing platform for flash sales (Juhuasuan). Wholesale commerce in China operated by the Company includes the China domestic wholesale marketplace (1688.com) and the wholesale marketplace for global trade (Alibaba.com).#2 - Stamps.com (NASDAQ:STMP)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 5 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $198.00 (-7.2% Upside)
Stamps.com Inc. is a provider of Internet-based mailing and shipping solutions in the United States. The Company offers mailing and shipping products and services to its customers under the Stamps.com, Endicia, ShipStation, ShipWorks and ShippingEasy brands. It operates through the Internet Mailing and Shipping Services segment. Under the Stamps.com and Endicia brands, customers use its United States Postal Service (USPS) only solutions to mail and ship a range of mail pieces and packages through the USPS. USPS mailing and shipping solutions enable users to print electronic postage directly onto envelopes, plain paper, or labels using only a standard personal computer, printer and Internet connection. The Company offers USPS mailing and shipping services, multi-carrier shipping services, mailing and shipping services, branded insurance and international postage solutions. The Company offers customized postage under the PhotoStamps and PictureItPostage brand names.#3 - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 42 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $1,055.37 (6.4% Upside)
Amazon.com, Inc. offers a range of products and services through its Websites. The Company operates through three segments: North America, International and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The North America segment consists of retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through North America-focused Websites, such as www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca and www.amazon.com.mx. The International segment primarily consists of retail sales of consumer products (including from sellers) and subscriptions through internationally-focused Websites, such as www.amazon.com.au, www.amazon.nl, www.amazon.es and www.amazon.co.uk. The AWS segment consists of sales of compute, storage, database, and other service offerings for start-ups, enterprises, government agencies and academic institutions. The Company's products include merchandise and content that it purchases for resale from vendors and those offered by third-party sellers. It manufactures and sells electronic devices.#4 - J.Jill (NASDAQ:JILL)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 7 Buy Ratings, 2 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $16.13 (41.1% Upside)
J.Jill, Inc. (J.Jill) operates as a specialty retailer in the women's apparel industry. J.Jill is a women's apparel brand focused on customer in the 40-65 age segment. The Company operates an integrated omni-channel platform that is diversified across its retail stores, Website and catalogs. It operates in the retail and direct channels segment. Its direct channel consists of its Website and catalog orders. As of January 28, 2017, it operated 275 stores in 43 states. The Company also offers a range of footwear and accessories, including scarves, jewelry and hosiery. Its products are marketed under the J.Jill brand name and sold through its direct and retail channels. It offers two sub-brands as extensions of its brand aesthetic: Pure Jill and Wearever. Its Website provides customers with access to the J.Jill product offering and features content, including updates on new collections and guidance on how to wear and wardrobe its styles.#5 - The Priceline Group (NASDAQ:PCLN)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 24 Buy Ratings, 5 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $1,902.50 (-6.9% Upside)
The Priceline Group Inc. is a provider of travel and restaurant online reservation and related services. The Company, through its online travel companies (OTCs), connects consumers wishing to make travel reservations with providers of travel services across the world. It offers consumers an array of accommodation reservations (including hotels, bed and breakfasts, hostels, apartments, vacation rentals and other properties) through its Booking.com, priceline.com and agoda.com brands. Its other brands include KAYAK, Rentalcars.com and OpenTable, Inc. (OpenTable). As of December 31, 2016, Booking.com offered accommodation reservation services for over 1,115,000 properties in over 220 countries and territories on its various Websites and in over 40 languages, which included over 568,000 vacation rental properties (updated property counts were available on the Booking.com Website).#6 - Ctrip.com International (NASDAQ:CTRP)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 14 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $57.67 (-0.4% Upside)
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. (Ctrip) is a travel service provider for accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and corporate travel management in China. The Company aggregates hotel and transportation information to enable business and leisure travelers to make bookings. It helps leisure travelers book tour packages and guided tours, and helps corporate clients manage their travel requirements. In addition, it offers a range of other travel-related services, including travelers' reviews, attraction tickets, travel-related financing and car services, and travel insurance and visa services to meet the various booking and travelling needs of both leisure and business travelers. It also offers independent leisure travelers bundled packaged-tour products, including group tours, semi-group tours and private tours or packaged tours with different transportation arrangements, such as cruise, bus or self-driving.#7 - Burlington Stores (NYSE:BURL)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 12 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $104.08 (19.6% Upside)
Burlington Stores, Inc. is a retailer of branded apparel. As of January 28, 2017, the Company operated 592 retail stores, inclusive of an Internet store, in 45 states and Puerto Rico. Its product categories include coats, women, men, juniors, girls, boys, shoes, handbags and accessories, beauty and fragrance, home and toys. The product categories for coats include women's coats and jackets, men's coats and jackets, juniors coats and jackets, girls coats and jackets, boy's coats and jackets, baby girl coats and jackets, and baby boy coats and jackets. The product categories for women include active wear, bottoms, coats and jackets, dresses, tops, scrubs, suit and suit separates, sweaters, swimwear and cover-ups. It also includes accessories, beauty and fragrance, handbags, jewelry, shoes and watches. The product categories for men include accessories, active wear, casual button down shirts, dress shirts, men's coats jackets, fleece, graphic tees, hoodies and sweatshirts, and jeans.#8 - Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 22 Buy Ratings, 9 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $64.70 (16.3% Upside)
Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks) is a roaster, marketer and retailer of coffee. As of October 2, 2016, the Company operated in 75 countries. The Company operates through four segments: Americas, which is inclusive of the United States, Canada, and Latin America; China/Asia Pacific (CAP); Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), and Channel Development. The Company's Americas, CAP, and EMEA segments include both company-operated and licensed stores. Its Channel Development segment includes roasted whole bean and ground coffees, Tazo teas, Starbucks- and Tazo-branded single-serve products, a range of ready-to-drink beverages, such as Frappuccino, Starbucks Doubleshot and Starbucks Refreshers beverages and other branded products sold across the world through channels, such as grocery stores, warehouse clubs, specialty retailers, convenience stores and the United States foodservice accounts.#9 - Meta Financial Group (NASDAQ:CASH)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.5
Ratings Breakdown: 1 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $108.00 (47.7% Upside)
Meta Financial Group, Inc. is a unitary savings and loan holding company. The Company operates through its banking subsidiary, MetaBank (the Bank). Its segments include Payments, Banking, and Corporate Services/Other. MetaBank is both a community-oriented financial institution offering a range of financial services to meet the needs of the communities it serves and a payments company providing services on a nationwide basis. It operates in both the banking and payments industries through MetaBank, its retail banking operation; Meta Payment Systems (MPS), its electronic payments division; AFS/IBEX Financial Services Inc. (AFS/IBEX), its insurance premium financing division, and Refund Advantage, EPS Financial, LLC (EPS) Financial and Specialty Consumer Services, its tax-related financial solutions divisions.#10 - CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.6
Ratings Breakdown: 11 Buy Ratings, 7 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $92.67 (17.1% Upside)
CVS Health Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, is an integrated pharmacy healthcare company. The Company provides pharmacy care for the senior community through Omnicare, Inc. (Omnicare) and Omnicare's long-term care (LTC) operations, which include distribution of pharmaceuticals, related pharmacy consulting and other ancillary services to chronic care facilities and other care settings. It operates through three segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail/LTC and Corporate. The Pharmacy Services Segment provides a range of pharmacy benefit management (PBM) solutions to its clients. As of December 31, 2016, the Retail/LTC Segment included 9,709 retail locations (of which 7,980 were its stores that operated a pharmacy and 1,674 were its pharmacies located within Target Corporation (Target) stores), its online retail pharmacy Websites, CVS.com, Navarro.com and Onofre.com.br, 38 onsite pharmacy stores, its long-term care pharmacy operations and its retail healthcare clinics.#11 - EVINE Live (NASDAQ:EVLV)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 3.0
Ratings Breakdown: 2 Buy Ratings, 0 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $2.50 (140.4% Upside)
EVINE Live Inc. is a digital commerce company. The Company operates through the digital commerce retailing segment. The Company offers a mix of brands directly to consumers in an engaging and informative shopping experience through television (TV), online and mobile devices. It operates an around the clock television shopping network, EVINE Live, which is distributed primarily on cable and satellite systems, through which the Company offers brand products in the categories of jewelry and watches, home and consumer electronics, beauty, and fashion and accessories. In addition, it offers a collection of men's and women's watches from classic to modern designs. It features home decor, bed and bath textiles, cookware, kitchen electrics, mattresses, tabletop accessories and home furnishings. Its beauty assortment features a range of skincare, cosmetics, hair care, and bath and body products. It also offers a range of apparel, outerwear, intimates, handbags, accessories and footwear.#12 - Liberty Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ:QVCA)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.9
Ratings Breakdown: 9 Buy Ratings, 1 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $30.00 (23.8% Upside)
Liberty Interactive Corporation owns interests in subsidiaries and other companies, which are primarily engaged in the video and online commerce industries. Through its subsidiaries and affiliates, the Company operates in North America, Europe and Asia. Its principal businesses and assets include its subsidiaries QVC, Inc. (QVC), zulily, llc (zulily) and and Evite, Inc. (Evite). The Company's segments include QVC, zulily, and Corporate and other. Evite is an online invitation and social event planning service on the Web. As of December 31, 2016, QVC marketed and sold a range of consumer products primarily through live merchandise-focused televised shopping programs distributed to approximately 362 million households each day and through its Websites, including QVC.com, and other interactive media, such as mobile applications. Zulily's merchandise includes women's, children's and men's apparel, children's merchandise and other products, such as kitchen accessories and home decor.#13 - Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.7
Ratings Breakdown: 20 Buy Ratings, 8 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $179.46 (14.3% Upside)
Costco Wholesale Corporation is engaged in the operation of membership warehouses in the United States and Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, and through its subsidiaries in Taiwan and Korea. As of August 28, 2016, the Company operated 715 warehouses across the world. The Company's average warehouse space is approximately 144,000 square feet. The Company's warehouses on average operate on a seven-day, 70-hour week. The Company offers merchandise in various categories, which include foods (including dry foods, packaged foods and groceries); sundries (including snack foods, candy, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and cleaning supplies); hardlines (including appliances, electronics, health and beauty aids, hardware, and garden and patio); fresh foods (including meat, produce, deli and bakery); softlines (including apparel and small appliances), and other (including gas stations and pharmacy).#14 - Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.8
Ratings Breakdown: 13 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $90.21 (10.7% Upside)
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Walgreens Boots Alliance) is a holding company. The Company is a global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. Walgreens Boots Alliance operates through three divisions, including Retail Pharmacy USA, Retail Pharmacy International and Pharmaceutical Wholesale. The Company's products are marketed under a number of brands, which include No7, the Botanics range, Almus (generic medicines), Boots Pharmaceuticals and Soap & Glory (bathing and beauty brand). In addition, the Company has investments in Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation and Nanjing Pharmaceutical Company Limited. The Company operates in around 25 countries, which include the wholesale and distribution network with over 340 distribution centers and more than 180,000 pharmacies, health centers and hospitals in 19 countries.#15 - Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings (NASDAQ:OLLI)
Consensus Rating: Buy
Rating Score: 2.5
Ratings Breakdown: 3 Buy Ratings, 3 Hold Ratings, 0 Sell Ratings.
Consensus Price Target: $40.25 (-10.7% Upside)
Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. is a retailer of brand name merchandise. The Company offers customers a selection of brand name products, including food, housewares, books and stationery, bed and bath, floor coverings, electronics and toys. Its warehouse format stores feature a range of products, including hardware, personal healthcare, candy, clothing, sporting goods, pet and lawn and garden products. It offers cooking utensils, dishes, appliances, plastic containers, coffee, bottled non-carbonated beverages, coffee, bottled non-carbonated beverages, bedding, towels, curtains, laminate flooring, commercial and residential carpeting, air conditioners, home electronics, cellular accessories, dolls, action figures, puzzles, action figures, puzzles, educational toys, board games, luggage, automotive, seasonal, furniture, summer furniture and lawn and garden. As of January 28, 2017, it had operated 234 stores across 19 contiguous states in the Eastern half of the United States.source: https://goo.gl/y86Kh8
