TJX Companies Q4 Results Beat View; Plans Dividend Increase; Share Buyback

(RTTNews) - Off-price retailer TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX) on Wednesday reported a nearly 3 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter from last year, reflecting higher sales and customer traffic. Both revenue and earnings per share for the quarter beat analysts' expectations.

Looking ahead, the company forecast earnings for the first quarter and fiscal 2017 below the Street estimates. The company also said it plans to increase the dividend by 24 percent and buy back up to $2 billion of stock.

The Framingham, Massachusetts-based company's fourth-quarter net income was $666.47 million or $0.99 per share, up from $648.23 million or $0.93 per share in the prior-year quarter.

On average, 29 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.94 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter increased 8 percent to $8.96 billion from $8.30 billion in the same quarter last year and beat analysts' consensus revenue estimate of $8.73 billion.

Consolidated comparable store sales for the quarter rose 6 percent, compared to an increase of 4 percent in the same period last year. The increase was driven by strong customer traffic.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2017, TJX Companies forecast earnings in a range of $0.68 to $0.70 per share, compared to $0.69 per share in the year-ago period. The earnings outlook is based upon estimated consolidated comparable store sales growth of 2 percent to 3 percent. Analysts expect the company to earn $0.74 per share for the quarter.

For fiscal 2017, TJX Companies forecast earnings in a range of $3.29 to $3.38 per share, which would represent a 1 percent decrease to a 2 percent increase over the $3.33 in fiscal 2016. The outlook is based upon estimated consolidated comparable store sales growth of 1 percent to 2 percent.

The Street is currently looking for full-year earnings of $3.61 per share.

TJX Companies intends to increase the regular quarterly dividend on its common stock to be declared in March 2016 and payable in June 2016 to $0.26 per share, subject to the approval of its board of directors. This increase would represent a 24 percent increase in the current per share dividend.

The company also plans to repurchase about $1.5 billion to $2.0 billion of TJX stock during the fiscal year ending January 28, 2017.