Citi Maintains Hold on Staples

Citi is out with its report today on Staples SPLS, maintaining Hold. In its report, Citi writes, "SPLS reported operating EPS of $0.22, vs. Street of $0.20 and our estimate of $0.19. Guidance was $0.18 to $0.20. Relative to our model the beat was driven by higher sales ($+225 million from better than expected delivery sales, but flat NAR Comp), higher GM% (+77bps above our forecast), and slightly higher SGA (+21bps vs. our estimates). Overall results improved quarter over quarter, however we remain cautious on the space in light of a challenging environment, which we believe limits upside to the stock, even at current levels." Citi maintains a $20 PT on SPLS. At the time of posting, shares of SPLS were trading pre-market at $15.40, up 8.30% from Tuesday's close.