One Clothing Retailer to Buy and Two to Stay Away From: The TJX Companies, Inc. (TJX), Kohl’s Corporation (KSS), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP)

To add a cherry on top of an already fantastic annual report, TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) also intends to increase the regular quarterly dividend on its common stock to $.145 per share, or $.58 annually. This represents a 26% increase to the current dividend and marks the 17^th consecutive year that TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) has raised its dividend. Over this period of time, the company’s dividend has grown at a superb compound annual rate of 23%.

Don’t settle for poor performance

There are many clothing retailer stocks to consider, and as a result you shouldn’t settle on an under-performing company.  Both J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) have disappointed investors lately with lackluster sales and profit performance.  In particular, J.C. Penney looks like a sinking ship.  CEO Ron Johnson likely will be struggling to turn the company around for a long time to come.

On a positive note, TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) continues to execute extremely well.  The company is seeing positive momentum in both its underlying business and its stock price.  The company is extremely shareholder-friendly, having increased the dividend for many years in a row and continuing to repurchase shares.  Investors interested in the clothing retail industry have a clear winner in the space:  TJX Companies.

The article One Clothing Retailer to Buy and Two to Stay Away From originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Robert Ciura.

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