Foot Locker target lowered to $32, added to ‘Top 5 Outperformers’ at Evercore

Evercore ISI lowered the firm’s price target on Foot Locker (FL) to $32 from $38 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm is trimming its Q3 same-store sales growth forecast to 1.3% from 3.3% and EPS view to 43c from 49c, compared to the Street at 41c, but thinks the stock will follow same-store sales inflecting from an “artificially negative run-rate” in early November to positive quarter-to-date by the time Foot Locker reports on December 4, the analyst tells investors. With the stock down 21% since September 1 and lagging the XRT retail index over that time, the firm expects Foot Locker’s stock to catch up as same-store sales trends stabilize around a more normal holiday launch calendar from here, according to the analyst, who adds the stock to his “Top 5 Outperformers List,” replacing Gap (GAP).