Vitamin Shoppe, Inc. (VSI) just jumped to a new 52-week high after reporting strong Q1 results that included a 23% earnings surprise. With estimates on the rise and a bullish growth projection, this Zacks #1 rank stock is a healthy addition to momentum.
Company Description
Vitamin Shoppe, Inc., through its subsidiaries, operates as a specialty retailer and direct marketer of vitamin and nutritional products. The company was founded in 1977 and has a market cap of $1.11 billion.
Although VSI has been trending higher for most of the last 9 months, shares got an extra boost on April 26 when the company reported strong Q1 results that came in ahead of expectations.
First-Quarter Results
Revenue for the period was up 13% from last year to $217 million. Earnings also came in strong at 49 cents, 23% ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate, where the company has an average earnings surprise of 16% over the last four quarters.
The good quarter was driven by an impressive gain in same-store sales, up 8.1% from last year. The company also saw a marginal gain in gross profit, increasing to 35% of revenue from 34% last year.
Financial Profile
Although VSI’s cash position is down from a year ago, so is its total debt, falling $27 million to $49 million.
Estimates
We saw some pretty solid movement in estimates off the good quarter, with the current year up 9 cents to $1.48. The next-year estimate is up 11 cents in the same time to $1.73, a bullish 17% growth projection.
Valuation
In light of those gains, the valuation picture is running a bit hot, with a forward P/E of 27X a premium to its peer average of 20X.
12-Month Chart
On the chart, VSI jumped into a new multi-year high on the good quarter, take a look below.
Michael Vodicka is the Momentum Stock Strategist for Zacks.com. He is also the Editor in charge of the Zacks Momentum Trader Service.
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