12 Apr Cool spring hurts footwear
The coldest March in the U.S. since ’96 hurt sales and prompted analysts at Sterne Agee to lower earnings estimates for shoemakers as customers delay spring and summer footwear purchases. Analysts at Sterne Agee lowered Steven Madden’s (SHOO) Q1 EPS to 48 cents from 52 cents and lowered Crocs’ (CROX) Q1 EPS to 30 cents from 33 cents. The outlook for Wolverine World Wide (WWW) was also cut. Deckers Outdoor (DECK), with its popular wool-lined Ugg boots, was the only shoemaker to have its earnings estimates raised. Sterne Agee raised its Q1 EPS from a loss of 13 cents to a loss of 6 cents.