Boston, MA 10/03/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (NYSE:PIR) on September 27 declared $0.05 quarterly dividend per share to its share holders on record as of October 23. It will be paid out on Nov. 6. Ex-dividend date has been declared as October. 21. This payout is in line with its previous three quarter payouts and add up to 1.01% of dividend yield for the year. A total of $0.2 dividend was paid out in the past one year.
The stock has been underperforming over the past few weeks. It got pegged down by more than 11% in a single day on September 19 when its 2Q results were announced. Its 3Q guidance was weak and 2Q revenue was less than street estimation. Management also cited execution failure on their part and hoped to set it right over the next few weeks. Analysts were also indicating that in comparison to previous year, the sales numbers of 2Q were more sustainable.
Since then analysts have gone over its quarterly report with a fine comb and reassessed their opinions. One such positive outlook was painted in a write up about the retailer by Credit Suisse analysts. They believe the fundamentals driving Pier 1 business remains buoyant with a steady demand for its customers. The 2Q underperformance was ascribed to “marketing errors” which the analysts feel the firm has addressed over the past couple of weeks. They expect the stock price to appreciate by $2 and range around $25 over the next three months.
In a sign of the gradual turn around, Pier 1 Imports shared their August online sales numbers. Apparently online sales revenue has grown over the months to represent 5% of the total company sales in the month of August. The shares of the $2.1 billion market cap company are trading at $19.83 per share as of close of business on October 2.
