Seven Hot Retail Stocks

Fourth-quarter retail earnings season kicked off last week with mixed results from Abercrombie & Fitch ANF and Nordstrom JWN. Many more retailers will post their results this week and next, including Walmart WMT, Home Depot HD, Macy's M, Barnes & Noble BKS and Safeway SWY. See also: Earnings Expectations for the Week of February 20 While we wait for results to come in, here are a few retail stocks that are on roll now. Their share prices are more than 20% higher than at the beginning of the year. They all have market caps of more than $1 billion, and they all offer dividends too. Advance Auto Parts AAP is trading almost 23% higher year to date due in part to a nearly 7% pop last week after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results. The company opened 99 new stores last year. The $6.2 billion market cap company has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Its P/E and PEG ratios are less than the industry average. The stock has outperformed peers AutoZone AZO and O'Reilly Automotive ORLY over the past six months. Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao's CBD share price is about 29% higher year to date, including an 8% rise last week. The second biggest retailer in Latin America operates more than 1,600 hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores and convenience stores in Brazil. Its dividend yield is 0.9%, the market cap is $12.2 billion and the long-term EPS growth forecast is 30.8%. The stock has outperformed Costco COST and Walmart over the past year. Finish Line FINL is up about 23% year to date and reached a new 52-week high on Friday. But short interest is 10.8% of the float, and the company has been a rumored takeover target. The Indianapolis-based footwear retailer has a return on equity of 15.9% and its operating margin is better than the industry average. The market cap is $1.2 billion. But over the past six months, the stock has underperformed Dick's Sporting Goods DKS and Foot Locker FL. Gap GPS is trading near a 52-week high and is more than 22% higher year to date. Better-than-expected sales numbers and optimistic guidance pushed the share price up more than 10% at the beginning of the month. The San Francisco-based retailer has a market cap of $11.1 billion and its dividend yield is 1.9%. The return on equity is 27.9%. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitors Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters AEO. JCPenney JCP is more than 22% higher year to date, though shares have traded mostly between $41 and $43 for the past three weeks. The company lately has been embroiled in controversy over its spokesperson Ellen DeGeneres. The dividend yield is 1.8% and the market cap is $9.1 billion. The long-range EPS growth forecast is 16.3%. But short interest is 17.2% of the float. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed rivals Macy's and Kohl's KSS. Luxottica Group LUX shares are trading up more than 21% year to date and have almost returned to the 52-week high from last April. The Italian eyewear maker saw double-digit sales growth in the fourth quarter and is scheduled to post full-year results February 28. The company has a market cap of $15.9 billion and the dividend yield is 1.8%. Its long-term EPS growth forecast is 14.0%. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed the Dow and the S&P 500. Penske Automotive Group PAG shares are trading more than 25% higher than at the beginning of the year. The stock hit a multiyear high last week after the auto retailer posted a 67% jump in profit for the fourth quarter. Penske has a dividend yield of 0.4%, the long-term EPS growth forecast is 18.1% and the P/E ratio is less than the industry average. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed competitors AutoNation AN and CarMax KMX.