Top 5 Retail Companies To Own In Right Now

With shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM) trading around $37, is GM an OUTPERFORM, WAIT AND SEE, or STAY AWAY? Let�� analyze the stock with the relevant sections of our CHEAT SHEET investing framework.

T = Trends for a Stock�� Movement

General Motors designs, manufactures, and markets cars, crossovers, trucks, and automobile parts worldwide. The company markets its vehicles primarily under the Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Opel, Holden, and Vauxhall brand names, as well as under the Alpheon, Jiefang, Baojun, and Wuling brand names. It sells cars and trucks to dealers for consumer retail sales as well as to fleet customers in daily rental car companies, commercial fleet customers, leasing companies, and governments.

General Motors might not want to beat Tesla Motors (NASDAQ:TSLA) outright, but the Detroit Three powerhouse is joining the electric vehicle maker in the race to produce an affordable, long-range electric vehicle. GM recently announced that it is nearly tripling the size of its battery lab in Michigan while the intensity of its focus on electric vehicle production increases. The goal is an affordable EV capable of covering 200 miles on a single charge.

Hot Heal Care Stocks To Watch For 2015: Ross Stores Inc.(ROST)

Ross Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates off-price retail apparel and home accessories stores under the Ross Dress for Less and dd?s DISCOUNTS brand names in the United States. Its Ross Dress for Less brand stores sell brand and designer apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire family at everyday savings of 20 to 60 percent off department and specialty store regular prices; and dd?s DISCOUNTS brand stores sell apparel, accessories, footwear, and home fashions for the entire family at everyday savings of 20 to 70 percent off moderate department and discount store regular prices. As of January 29, 2011, the company operated 1,055 stores, of which 988 were Ross Dress for Less brand stores in 27 states and Guam, and 67 were dd?s DISCOUNTS brand stores in 6 states. Its Ross Dress for Less brand stores primarily target middle income households and dd?s DISCOUNTS brand stores target moderate income households. Ross Stores, Inc. was found ed in 1957 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Caplinger]

  Yet store expansion will also play a key role in growth for the company. Last year, Stage Stores emphasized its Steele's off-price store segment, opening 31 locations compared to just 25 among its other brands. Both T.J. Maxx operator TJX (NYSE: TJX  ) and Ross Stores (NASDAQ: ROST  ) have used the off-price strategy to great success over their respective histories, and although the two chains faced some headwinds more recently as a result of payroll tax hikes and delayed tax refunds, investors expect mid-single-digit sales growth from both Ross and TJX for the foreseeable future. If Stage Stores can cash in on the same trend, it could help the company accelerate its own rising revenue.

• [By Steven Russolillo]

  WATCH FOR:�Weekly Jobless Claims (8:30 a.m. Eastern Time): seen 310K; previously 297K. May Markit “Flash” PMI (9:45). April Existing Home Sales (10:00): seen +2.0% at 2.68M; previously -0.2% at 4.59M. April Leading Index (10:00): seen +0.5%; previously +0.8%. May Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Survey (11:00): seen 8; previously 7. Aeropostale, Best Buy(BBY), Borcade, Buckle, Dollar Tree(DLTR), GameStop(GME), Gap(GPS), Hewlett-Packard(HPQ), Marvell Tech(MRVL), Mentor Graphics(MENT), Ross Stores(ROST) and TiVo are among companies scheduled to report quarterly results.

• [By Ben Levisohn]

  Shares of Lululemon (LULU) have dropped 8.9% this year, all the more impressive given the S&P 500′s 25% rise in 2013. Even worse, comparable stores Urban Outfitters (URBN), Ross Stores (ROST) and Guess? (GES) have all gained between 1.5% and 47% so far this year.

Top 5 Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Nordstrom Inc.(JWN)

Nordstrom, Inc., a fashion specialty retailer, offers apparel, shoes, cosmetics, and accessories for women, men, and children in the United States. It offers a selection of brand name and private label merchandise. The company sells its products through various channels, including Nordstrom full-line stores, off-price Nordstrom Rack stores, Jeffrey? boutiques, treasure & bond, and Last Chance clearance stores; and its online store, nordstrom.com, as well as through catalog. Nordstrom also provides a private label card, two Nordstrom VISA credit cards, and a debit card for Nordstrom purchases. The company?s credit and debit cards feature a shopping-based loyalty program. As of September 30, 2011, it operated 222 stores, including 117 full-line stores, 101 Nordstrom Racks, 2 Jeffrey boutiques, 1 treasure & bond store, and 1 clearance store in 30 states. The company was founded in 1901 and is based in Seattle, Washington.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Andrew Marder]

  Betting on history
  While past performance isn't a guarantee of future performance, it sure as heck helps gauge the likelihood of success. Not a whole lot of companies can boast the history that Nordstrom (NYSE: JWN  ) can. The company was founded in 1901, surviving everything from World Wars to Depressions to get to where it is today. Last year, Nordstrom managed a 7.3% increase in comparable-store sales, helping to push revenue up 12% for the year.

Top 5 Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.(BBBY)

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates a chain of retail stores. It sells a range of domestic merchandise, such as bed linens and related items, bath items, and kitchen textiles; and home furnishings, including kitchen and tabletop items, fine tabletop, basic housewares, general home furnishings, consumables, and certain juvenile products. The company also offers giftware, household products, and health and beauty care items; and infant and toddler merchandise. It operates stores under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBB), Christmas Tree Shops (CTS), Harmon and Harmon Face Values (Harmon), and buybuy BABY. As of August 27, 2011, the company had a total of 1,155 stores, including 986 BBB stores, 70 CTS stores, 54 buybuy BABY stores, and 45 Harmon stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada. It also operates two stores under the name of Home & More in the Mexico City through a joint venture. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. was foun ded in 1971 and is based in Union, New Jersey.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jesse Solomon]

  In the loser category, Coach (COH) has taken the worst with an almost 40% decline, while Whole Foods (WFM) has dropped over 30%. Staples (SPLS), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), Best Buy (BBY), and Amazon (AMZN, Tech30) aren't far behind in the unglamorous contest for the biggest loser.

• [By Chris Mydlo] 60.33 on 6/12/2014, near its 52-week low of $60.15. The company is a retailer that operates under the names of Bed Bath & Beyond, Christmas Tree Shops andThat!, Harmon Face Values, buybuy BABY, and World Market. It sells a wide assortment of domestics merchandise and home furnishings. The stock is down 25 percent year-to-date, but has been holding support at about $60 per share. Earnings were slightly down by 5 percent in the latest quarter. The United States faced a negative GDP in the first quarter and Bed Bath & Beyond still had positive growth in same store sales. I think the stock can turn around. The GuruFocus DCF calculator shows a fair value of $87.07 with a margin of safety of 31 percent. The stock is currently held by 16 of the gurus we follow.

  Market Cap: 12.32 billion, P/E: 12.90

  Business Predictability: 4/5, Financial Strength: 9/10, Profitability & Growth: 8/10

  Gaming and Leisure Properties (GLPI) closed at $32.94 on 6/12/2014, near its 52-week low of $32.70. The company is a recent spin-off from Penn National Gaming. It now owns the properties of Penn National and is collecting lease payments. The now independent company is looking to acquire more gaming real estate and is open to lease the properties to other casino operators. Gaming and Leisure is also interested in expanding outside of casino gaming. The large drop in the stock price in January was due to a special dividend of $11.84. The company has not had a full year of operations on its own yet, but analyst are estimating 2014 FY EPS of 2.53. With the estimated EPS, the company needs to grow 8 percent annually to justify its current price, but analysts are only calling for a 5.5 percent increase in earnings for 2015. The stock is held by 12 of the gurus we follow.

  Market Cap: 3.68 billion, P/E: 68.00

  Business Predictability: Not Rated, Financial Strength: 5/10, Profitability & Growth: 4/10

  Currently 0.00/512345

  Rati

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) �fell 8.5% to $72.95 on heavy volume after the company reported fiscal�third-quarter earnings of $1.12 a share on revenue of $2.87 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected $1.15 a share on revenue of $2.88 billion.

Top 5 Retail Companies To Own In Right Now: Burlington Stores Inc (BURL)

Burlington Stores, Inc., incorporated on February 13, 2013, is a national off-price retailer of branded apparel, operating 503 stores, inclusive of an Internet store, in 44 states and Puerto Rico. The Company offers its merchandise using an Every Day Low Price (EDLP) model with savings up to 60-70% off department and specialty store regular prices. It provides its customers with a selection of fashionable branded product in women�� ready-to-wear apparel, menswear, youth apparel, baby products, footwear, accessories, home goods and coats. The Company merchandise from over 3,500 vendors, with a focus on nationally-recognized brands. This vendor breadth provides its customers with a treasure hunt experience of searching for great brands at great value.

The Company�� average store size is approximately 80,000 square feet, which is two to three times the size of its off-price competitors��stores. Its larger store size has allowed the Company to offer more categories and substantially more breadth in each product category than its off-price competitors and to establish ourselves as a destination for select categories, including coats, youth and baby, special-occasion dresses and men�� tailored apparel.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL) shares shot up 11.91 percent to $28.99 on Q4 results. Burlington Stores reported its Q4 earnings of $1.07 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.03 per share.

• [By Paul Ausick]

  Ross Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: ROST) has said that its more than 1,100 stores will remain closed on Thanksgiving, as has The TJX Companies Inc. (NYSE: TJX), owner of the TJ Maxx, Marshall��, and other retail brands. Another off-price retailer, Burlington Stores Inc. (NYSE: BURL), owner of the Burlington Coat Factory stores, will also remain closed on the holiday.

• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Equities Trading UP
  Burlington Stores (NYSE: BURL) shares shot up 15.02 percent to $29.79 on Q4 results. Burlington Stores reported its Q4 earnings of $1.07 per share, versus analysts' estimates of $1.03 per share.