Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS)

[Porgie Tirebiter]

Good earnings news on all fronts, with a bottom line beat. However the top line only rose 12% over a year ago, and that's not quite as much as analysts expected.

So the stock craters more than 7%. Opportunity knocks. I'm taking a another small bite and adding 200 shares right here.

Chico's FAS Inc. (CHS) fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 30%, beating analysts' estimates, on improved margins and same-store sales growth in all brands.
The operator of its namesake stores, as well as the Soma Intimates and White House/Black Market chains, has seen rising profit lately, helped by higher sales at its direct-to-consumer business and better overall revenue. The recession hit in the midst of Chico's plan to reverse a long sales decline and the changes have gained traction, helping drive recent strength.
For the quarter ended April 30, Chico's reported a profit of $45.9 million, or 26 cents a share, up from $35.4 million, or 20 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales jumped 12% to $537.2 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 25 cents on revenue of $544 million.
Consolidated comparable sales, which include the direct-to-consumer catalog and Internet sales, climbed 7.7%. Same-store sales rose 7.8% for the Chico's/Soma Intimates brands and increased 7.4% for the White House/Black Market brands.
Gross margin rose to 59.1% from 58.5%.