Do You Have These Top Consumer Stocks On Your Radar For April 2021?
Consumer stocks remain in focus now as investors bet on broader economic recovery this year. For starters, we could look at top consumer discretionary stocks like Funko (NASDAQ: FNKO) and Tripadvisor (NASDAQ: TRIP). On one hand, Funko has been on the uptrend thanks to stimulus spending tailwinds. Positive sales trends aside, Funko is also moving into the hot non-fungible token (NFT) market. On the other hand, Tripadvisor continues gaining momentum as investors bet on the pent-up demand for travel now. Overall, both companies are looking at year-to-date gains of over 90%.
Elsewhere, consumer staples stocks such as Target (NYSE: TGT) have more than doubled in value over the past year. In this case, the company has made massive changes to its business amidst the pandemic. Curbside pickup services and more comprehensive e-commerce infrastructure would continue to be a convenience to consumers post-pandemic. By and large, things could be looking up for top consumer stocks as a whole this month.
How Fast Will The Economy Bounce Back?
All this is great, but one key question now would be, when will the economy bounce back? After all, this would be a crucial growth factor for all the consumer stocks and reopening plays being bought now. Well, Bank of America’s (NYSE: BAC) head of global economic research Ethan Harris believes Q2 2021 could be that time. Harris cites leftover stimulus money and accelerated reopenings speeding up liquidity deployment among consumers. All in all, BAC forecasts economic growth of 10% in the second quarter of 2021. Should this be the case, would now be the time to invest in these top consumer stocks?
Top Consumer Stocks To Buy [Or Avoid] Now
- Conn’s Inc. (NASDAQ: CONN)
- Plby Group Inc. (NASDAQ: PLBY)
- Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ: WING)
- Guess? Inc. (NYSE: GES)
Conn’s Inc.
For starters, we have Conn’s Inc. In brief, it is a Texas-based furniture store company. Aside from furniture, the company also offers electronics and appliances in its 144 locations across the U.S. If anything, consumers could be turning to Conn’s for their home appliance needs regardless of pandemic conditions. With there being a constant need for the company’s offerings, CONN stock would be a go-to for investors moving forward. Additionally, the company also boasts a “flexible in-house credit”, third-party financing, and third-party rent-to-own payment programs. This would help set Conn’s apart from the competition now. More importantly, CONN stock gained by over 9.6% during intraday trading yesterday on account of the company’s latest financial update.
Diving right into it, Conn’s posted solid figures in its fourth-quarter fiscal earlier this week. Particularly, Conn’s saw a massive 400% year-over-year surge in earnings per share in the quarter. Adding to that, the company also saw its e-commerce sales more than double throughout the fiscal year. Moving forward, CEO Norm Miller cites Conn’s best-in-class credit offerings, e-commerce investments, and expanding physical footprint as long-term growth drivers. Time will tell if Conn’s can keep up its current momentum. Does this make CONN stock a buy for you?
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Plby Group Inc.
Another consumer stock to watch now would be PLBY. For some context, PLBY is a global media and lifestyle company. You might be familiar with its flagship Playboy brand. In terms of scale, the Playboy brand alone supposedly accounts for over $3 billion in global consumer spending annually. Recently, the consumer discretionary giant has also been looking to leverage its massive brand archive via NFTs. On top of all that, PLBY reported stellar figures in its recent-quarter fiscal last week. In it, the company saw total revenue more than double year-over-year. Given PLBY’s current momentum and ambitious NFT plays, could PLBY stock be worth watching?
Well, Canaccord Genuity analyst Austin Moldow believes so. In fact, Moldow initiated coverage of PLBY stock with a buy rating and a $28 price target. The analyst suggests that Playboy is “one of the most recognized yet undervalued brands in the world”. Arguably, Moldow says the PLBY is executing on growth strategies and has room to grow in the e-commerce space. As a result, PLBY stock surged by over 19% before yesterday’s closing bell. Given all of this, could PLBY stock continue to flourish this year in the NFT space?
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Wingstop Inc.
Third, we will be looking at Wingstop Inc. The company operates a chain of nostalgic, aviation-themed restaurants that specialize in serving chicken wings, as the name suggests. Globally, the company has approximately 1,500 restaurants. Given its current partnership with GrubHub (NYSE: GRUB), WingStop has mostly been able to operate amidst the pandemic. So much so that the company’s digital sales exceeded $1 billion throughout 2020. Meanwhile, investors appear to be flocking to WING stock now thanks to its latest financial update.
Namely, the company released preliminary results for its first quarter of fiscal 2021. Investors were likely impressed to see that Wingstop posted a 20.7% increase in domestic same-store sales growth. Moreover, the company also opened 41 new restaurants year-to-date. Considering the ongoing pandemic, this is an impressive feat. If all that wasn’t enough, Wingstop also saw digital sales surge by over 63% year-over-year this quarter.
No doubt, these figures are great, but investors might be wondering if Wingstop’s current success is only thanks to pandemic conditions. Well, the company has been steadily improving same-store sales figures since 2017. If anything, it just received an additional boost from food delivery tailwinds. All things considered, will you be buying WING stock?
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Guess? Inc.
Last but not least, we will be looking at Guess, a clothing brand and apparel retailer. Aside from general men’s and women’s clothing, the company also markets fashion accessories such as watches, jewelry, perfume, and shoes. It does so via 1,046 retail stores across the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Given that Guess is a conventional retail player, investors would be considering GES stock as a reopening play now. Likewise, GES stock has more than quadrupled in value over the past year, after gaining by 4.5% yesterday. This activity does coincide with its recent-quarter fiscal posted earlier this week.
Notably, the company posted a total revenue of $648 million for the quarter. This was followed by an adjusted earnings per share of $1.18, more than double of Wall Street’s estimates of $0.57. Despite the massive challenges in the retail scene lately, Guess appears to be handling themselves better than expected.
Furthermore, analysts at B.Riley Financial (NASDAQ: RILY) reiterated a buy rating and bumped their price target for GES stock. Understandably, investors would be hyped as Guess beats earnings estimates and receives a rosy analyst update. With all this in mind, would you consider adding GES stock to your portfolio?
