Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) released its fiscal first-quarter earnings numbers in line with expectations. Investors sent its stock higher on the news, even though it merely matched analysts’ forecasts across the board. The numbers follow an impressive first-quarter report from fellow housing retailer The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD)
Can investors expect the rally to continue?
What’s behind the report
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) earned 93 cents per share in the first-quarter, matching the consensus estimate. It narrowly beat revenue estimates of $2.60 billion at $2.61 billion.
Same-store sales are behind Wall Street’s optimism. The company reported a 3.4% increase in same-store sales compared to the year-ago period. Like many retailers, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) is engaged in a rapid share repurchase plan. The company announced repurchases tallying 5 million shares, worth $324 million. Some $2.1 billion remains in its December 2012 repurchase authorization. If the company were to repurchase those shares at the current market price, share count would fall by more than 20%.
Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) is growing shareholder value from the inside. The company has plans to return much of its earnings to shareholders as the maturing retailer cannot find sizable growth opportunities within its network of 1,478 stores.
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is another housing-related company using buybacks, not new store openings, to drive growth. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) plans to open only nine new stores against a current portfolio of 2,256 open locations. It will return some $17 billion to shareholders via buybacks by 2015, since organic growth in store count is muted by its already dominating market position.
Watch this housing statistic
An improvement in housing underpins the gains in Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) and The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD). As home sales pick up from an anemic, post-financial crisis pace, both companies benefit from remodel purchases and the sale of new fixtures and furniture.
A key metric for both retailers is household formation. When a 20-something moves out of mom’s house, a new household is formed, which leads to the sale of various new home essentials. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) and Bed Bath & Beyond benefit from new household formation.
Household formation is very positive. Here’s a chart of households as a percentage of population:
When this chart turns up, new households are forming. That means dollar signs for focused retailers.
Why retail is the best bet on housing
As rates rise from their lows, investors are calling for a pullback in new home construction. Home builders were targeted for their exposure to interest rates, since higher interest rates put a damper on new home sales.
Retailers aren’t tied to new home sales or sales trends. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) customers are not just homeowners, but renters, too. New apartment leases are a boon for the business, just as a new home sale. The same is true of The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD), which can ride of the wave of new apartment construction as Americans begin to form new households on the back of economic recovery. Apartment building is a perpetual bright spot in the real estate industry.
These two retailers are a diversified bet on an improving economy and household formation. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBY) trades at just fourteen times forward earnings expectations for 2013. Excluding cash on the balance sheet, the company trades for a P/E multiple of 13.
The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) is pricier at 18 times earnings due to its levered balance sheet. However, the company continues to post record earnings, smashing through analyst expectations after it grew bottom line net income by 17% in the first quarter of 2013.
A bet on either of these names will position investors to profit from economic growth. New jobs beget home sales and new households, which lead to bigger bottom line income. When it comes to housing, your best bet may be on these two mature retail powerhouses trading at multiples near the broad stock market.
The article Retailers Ride Housing to Bigger Profits originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Jordan Wathen.
Jordan Wathen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Bed Bath & Beyond and Home Depot. Jordan 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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