Men's Wearhouse climbs on solid 3Q performance

Orlando, FL 12/7/11 (StreetBeat) -- Shares of Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE: MW) surged on Wednesday, a day after the clothier reported third-quarter results that topped Wall Street's expectations and raised its full-year adjusted earnings guidance.

THE SPARK: On Tuesday, Men's Wearhouse reported net income of 77 cents per share, with adjusted earnings coming in at 79 cents per share. Revenue increased 6 percent to $584.6 million. Analysts polled by FactSet predicted earnings of 65 cents per share on revenue of $571.4 million.

The Houston company also boosted its full-year adjusted earnings outlook to a range of $2.28 to $2.31 per share. Its prior forecast was for earnings between $2.13 and $2.20 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.19 per share for the year.

THE ANALYSIS: Wedbush's Betty Chen said in a client note that Men's Wearhouse has been able to keep momentum going for its clothes because strategic promotions are helping to drive traffic. The company's tuxedo rental operations are also in position to grow partly on a new licensing deal, with its U.K. uniform segment also expected to contribute to its revenue, she added.

Chen increased Men's Wearhouse's price target to $34 from $32 and reaffirmed a "Neutral" rating.

SHARE MOVEMENT: Men's Wearhouse climbed $4.07, or 15 percent, to $31.26 in midday trading Wednesday. The stock is down 14 percent from its 52-week high of $36.44 set in early July. It traded as low as $23.03 per share almost a year ago.

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Men's Wearhouse expects third-quarter sales growth of 3% to 4%, which is in line with estimates. But the company gave above-consensus earnings projections for both the third quarter and full year, saying it expects adjusted earnings of 64 cents to 66 cents a share and $2.13 to $2.20 a share in the respective periods.

The company reported adjusted earnings of $58.3 million, or $1.11 a share, for its second quarter with total sales rising 22% year over year to $655 million, and same-store sales for its namesake brand increasing 10.9%.

The performance topped guidance for adjusted earnings of $1.02 to $1.05 a share, and ahead of the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for a profit of $1.04 a share.

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