Shares of The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW) crossed 20% in Thursday trading after it reported a narrow fourth-quarter loss sales and planned to look at the possible sale of one of its weaker performing units, K&G clothing.
The Houston. TX based company that owns the The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW), Moores and K&G clothing chains where it sells men’s suits and accessories, reported a fourth quarter net loss of -$3.4 million, or 7 cents per share, compared to last years net loss of -$3.8 million, or 7 cents per share.
The company has hired Jefferies & Co. to evaluate “strategic alternatives” for K&G, which saw same-store sales fall 5.7%. K&G made up 16% of sales in Q4
“We believe that our core strength lies primarily in our The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW) and Moores men’s specialty apparel retailing,” said Men’s Warehouse CEO Doug Ewert.
According to CEO Doug Ewert, company’s quarter began with “an unprecedented volume decline” in November but that the balance of the quarter improved despite facing the same macro economic challenges.
“I personally think the stock is up because they really came through this difficult November, December, January period a lot better than their competitor, Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc (NASDAQ:JOSB),” said analyst William Baldwin of Baldwin Anthony Securities.
The company is now estimating its FY2013 earnings in the range of $2.70 to $2.80 per share, whereas, the sales growth is anticipated to stay between 2.85% and 3.85%.
The company also revealed that its board had approved a $200 million share buy back program. There was $45 million remaining on the company’s previous buy back authorization.
Shares of Houston-based The Men’s Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW) soared 14.00% to $33.14 Thursday morning, leaving them up 6.7% on the year and down 18% over the past 12 months.
