Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Ambercrombie & Fitch Co., Costco, Target, Walgreen Co. and Rite Aid

CHICAGO - (BUSINESS WIRE) - Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Ambercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF), Costco (Nasdaq: COST), Target (NYSE: TGT), Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD).

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Here are highlights from Thursday's Analyst Blog:

Easy Comps Help Retail Sales

Among teen retailers, Ambercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) posted weaker-than-expected results, with same-store sales down 15%. Among discounters, Costco (Nasdaq: COST) had strong numbers, beating expectations; while Target's (NYSE: TGT) 0.1% decline was below the flat-results. Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) reported strong same-store sales numbers, maintaining its momentum from the previous month, while Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) continued to struggle.

While the economy has come out of the recession, the consumer is still hard pressed, given the dismal labor market and continued housing overhang. With another employment report due tomorrow -- and expectations of around 170,000 jobs lost in October -- any meaningful improvement in the retail scene will have to wait a turnaround in the labor market.

The saving grace for retailers in their fiscal third quarter results (typically ends October 30th) is the relatively easier comparison with the extremely bad 2008.

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