Not Your Typical Frumpy Grandma’s Retail Apparel Stocks? CHS, ANN, CBK & CWTR

As the women baby boomer population ages, finding clothes that make them appear stylish rather than frumpy can be a struggle but women’s retail apparel stocks Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS), Ann Inc (NYSE: ANN), Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK) and Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR) appear to focus on more mature women rather than teens or twenty-somethings. I should admit that I am hardly an expert of what older or mature women want to wear (by all means, feel free to post comments about other potential apparel stocks that cater to older women) but Chico's FAS (CHS), Ann (ANN), Christopher & Banks Corporation (CBK) and Coldwater Creek (CWTR) appear to be on the right track when it comes to fashion and demographic trends. And while their apparel might belong in you or your wife’s closer, what about as an investment in your portfolio? Here is a quick look:

Chico's FAS (NYSE: CHS) Is Looking Very Fashionable For Investors

Chico's FAS is a specialty retailer of private branded, casual-to-dressy clothing, intimates, complementary accessories and other non-clothing gift items under the Chico’s, White House / Black Market (WH/BM) and Soma Intimates (Soma) brand names that focus on women 30 and over. On Monday, Chico's FAS rose 3.25% to $18.72 (CHS has a 52 week trading range of $9.57 to $19.43 a share) for a market cap of $3.11 billion plus the stock is up 68% since the start of the year and up 30.45% over the past five years – not a bad performance. Moreover, there is plenty to like about Chico's FAS as it has virtually no debt and around $358 million in cash or cash equivalents lying around. And the last time Chico's FAS reported earnings, it reported that while sales growth fell to 16%, it met Wall Street’s expectations plus EPS growth jumped from 23% to 28% while the company’s trailing P/E is 19.83 and its forward P/E is 15.10. Otherwise, Chico's FAS will next report earnings on November 20th and its also worth noting that the stock has a forward P/E of $0.21 for a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hence, the Chico's FAS is looking pretty fashionable.

Ann Inc (NYSE: ANN) Is Luring the Bulls Back In

Ann Inc is a specialty retailer of women’s apparel, shoes and accessories sold primarily under the Ann Taylor and LOFT brands. On Monday, Ann rose 2.13% to $36.87 (ANN has a 52 week trading range of $21.74 to $39.78 a share) for a market cap of $1.74 billion plus the stock is up 48.8% since the start of the year and up 6.6% over the past five years. Ann Inc has made some pull back recently but it also appears the stock is pulling the bulls back in as recently 2,000 December 36 calls were purchased and matched against the sale of an equal number of December 41 calls while volume was more than 40 times open interest at both strikes. Likewise, board member Daniel Yih recently bought 5,400 shares at an average price of $37.02 for a total investment of $200,000. And the last time Ann Inc reported earnings, it reported a revenue rise of 7% thanks to same-store sales growth while earnings grew by 24%. Ann Inc also has a trailing P/E of 19.90 and a forward P/E of 14.35 but it pays no dividend with November 12 being the next earnings report date.

Christopher & Banks Corporation (NYSE: CBK): Is a Turnaround at Hand?

Christopher & Banks Corporation retails women’s apparel generally consisting of knit tops, woven tops, jackets, sweaters, skirts, denim bottoms and bottoms made of other fabrics. On Monday, Christopher & Banks Corporation rose 2.54% to $3.63 (CBK has a 52 week trading range of $1.01 to $3.88 a share) for a market cap of $134.38 million plus the stock is up 55.1% since the start of the year but down 72.6% over the past five years. Back in late August, Christopher & Banks Corporation showed signs that it may be turning itself around after reporting a smaller loss of $2.2 million verses a loss of $6.2 million for the same period a year earlier – better than what Wall Street wanted. Same-store sales rose 5.5% but revenue fell 2% to $103.4 million. Christopher & Banks Corporation stopped paying a dividend back in 2011 and its also worth noting that back in July, investor Aria Partners had made a $64.2 million buyout offer after its $1.75 offer in May was rejected. However, it now looks like Christopher & Banks Corporation is turning itself around but investors might want to wait until the November 29th earnings report. 

Coldwater Creek (NASDAQ: CWTR): Are There Signs of a Turnaround?

Coldwater Creek is a specialty retailer of women's apparel, accessories, jewelry and gift items. On Monday, Coldwater Creek fell 2.32% to $3.79 (CWTR has a 52 week trading range of $1.78 to $5.20 a share) for a market cap of $115.57 million plus the stock is down 19.7% since the start of the year and down 87.9% over the past five years. Back in September, Coldwater Creek announced that its board of directors has approved a 1-for-4 reverse stock split in order to maintain the company’s NASDAQ listing. At the beginning of October, Coldwater Creek was upgraded from neutral to overweight by Piper Jaffray. However and the last time Coldwater Creek reported earnings, it reported a revenue fall from $181.4 million to $163.7 million due to store closings and a 6.5% decrease in comparable premium retail store sales and a net loss of $17.6 million verses a net loss of $27.7 million for the same period last year. Coldwater Creek will next report earnings on November 26th and that earnings report will be worth watching for additional signs of a turnaround.

The Bottom Line. Women’s retail apparel stocks Chico's FAS (CHS) and Ann Inc (ANN) are looking solid but for investors who can stomach uncertainty, Christopher & Banks Corporation (CBK) and Coldwater Creek (CWTR) could potentially be interesting turnaround plays at the very least worth watching.