May Store Sales To Be Softer With A Pick Up Later In The Month (COST, BJ)

Analysts at Jefferies are expecting May sales “to be on or slightly below plan due to unfavorable weather comparisons y-y, but we think there was a late month pick-up as warmer temperatures arrived.” Analysts think “business improved in the last eleven days of the month and we are therefore projecting a 1-3% comp store sales increase. Even this performance would likely put the company at the low end to slightly below plan.” “We are expecting core comp store sales at Costco Wholesale Corporation COST to come in around 3-4%. We are forecasting a total company comp store sales increase of 10%-12%... We expect the BJ's Wholesale Club Inc BJ to report a total comp store sales increase of 6%-8%, which includes a core gain of 3%-5% and a benefit of approximately 375bps from gas along with a negligible positive impact from the Memorial Day calendar shift,” Jefferies adds. More Analyst Ratings here