The Good, The Better, and The Ugly: Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN), Dollar Tree, Inc. (DLTR), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (JCP)

CEO Bob Sasser didn’t have to apologize on their Q4 conference call. Sasser also boasted (rightly so) of their first $2 billion quarter, one dollar at a time, for a 26.3% increase in sales from the year ago quarter. Earnings were $2.68 per share for an increase of 33.3% from the year ago quarter. Sasser also announced plans to expand frozen and refrigerated food offerings to 475 more stores and Canadian expansion ambitions from 140 stores currently to a possible 1,000 stores.

Dollar Tree is trading at an 18.24 P/E with a PEG of .95. It is off almost 20% from its 52 week high even after the earnings boost. All corporate governance risks are low and the return on equity is 38.76%. The company is rolling out new Deal$ stores which offers items at a discount but more than a dollar. Sasser says it’s early days but the Deal$ stores are doing well so far.

Good Will

Oh-so-shareholder and customer friendly Nordstrom is spreading even more good will about with this share buyback and dividend hike. Unsurprisingly, Motley Fool rates it one of the 25 Best Companies in America for 2013. The company is not just a high end retailer as its Nordstrom Rack stores are a destination for the less affluent but still aspirational shopper.

This name should be a darling of socially responsible investors with some of the best treated and paid employees in retail. Corporate governance risks are low in all categories as well if that is a social responsibility metric one values. This is even more important when you have legacy family members involved with a company that could skew shareholders’ rights. Not so at this 112 year old company which still has several Nordstroms in executive positions including Blake Nordstrom as CEO but shareholders’ rights are highly respected. Various Nordstroms own 18 million shares for close to a 10% stake.

Nordstrom stock is barely up 1% over the last year which is incredible for such a well-managed company. It’s down 10% from its 52 week high. There aren’t many better bargains in retail with a forward P/E of 12.71 with a 2.00% yield at a 30% payout ratio. Analysts expect 11% five year EPS growth.

Better And Better

High end Nordstrom and low end Dollar Tree are in the bargain basement here underperforming the S&P 500 for no good reason. Snatch them up before some agile shopper gets them and just put that J.C. Penney down. It’s not a steal even at $18.00. To use their new marketing motto, Compare.

The article The Good, The Better, and The Ugly originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by AnnaLisa Kraft.

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