Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD): This Stock Is Quite Cheap Now

Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) is the biggest company of the trio with $44 billion in total market cap. At $68.70 per share, it also valued the most expensive among the three companies. It is valued at 0.6 times its sales. In the first quarter of 2013, Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) also announced earnings results that were below expectations. Its net income for the first quarter came in at $498 million, or $0.77 per share, 26% lower than the net income of $697 million, or $1.04 per share, in the same quarter last year.

The EPS included $0.36 per share accounting gains due to the sales of the consumer credit receivables portfolio to . In the first quarter, the company reported that it has returned nearly $780 million to shareholders via dividends and share repurchases. The sluggish first-quarter earnings were due to “softer-than-expected sales, particularly in apparel and other seasonal and weather-sensitive categories.” For the full year, Target expects to generate $4.12 to $4.32 in EPS.

My Foolish take

Among the three, I like Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) the most due to its huge real estate and merchandise inventory assets. Moreover, it is trading at a significant discount of 50% to J.C. Penney, the other struggling retailer based on sales valuation level. I think at its current trading price, Sears offers wide margin of safety for patient investors.

The article This Stock Is Quite Cheap Now originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Anh HOANG.

Anh HOANG owns shares of Sears Holdings. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Anh is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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