Consumer confidence surged once again to help set up what could be another strong quarterly performance from the retail sector. With September’s Consumer Confidence Index closing in on an 18-year high, let’s look at three retail stocks that might be worth buying at the moment.
Consumer Confidence
The retail industry shined last quarter on the back of positive momentum from Walmart (WMT – Free Report), Target (TGT – Free Report), and Home Depot (HD – Free Report), among others. And consumer confidence continues to climb.
The Consumer Confidence Index, which is calculated based on a Nielsen survey, reached 138.4 in September. This marked a roughly 2.7% surge from August’s 134.7. More specifically, the Present Situation Index climbed from 172.8 to 173.1, while the Expectations Index jumped by over 5% from 109.3 to 115.3. The Conference Board said that September’s reading was “not far from the all-time high of 144.7 reached in 2000.”
“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions remains extremely favorable, bolstered by a strong economy and robust job growth,” Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, Lynn Franco, said in a statement. “The Expectations Index surged in September, suggesting solid economic growth exceeding 3.0 percent for the remainder of the year. These historically high confidence levels should continue to support healthy consumer spending, and should be welcome news for retailers as they begin gearing up for the holiday season.”
With this recent consumer confidence growth in mind, we will dive into three retail stocks that look like solid buys at the moment.
Urban Outfitters (URBN – Free Report)
Shares of Urban Outfitters have plummeted over 13% in the last three months despite strong second-quarter financial results after the lifestyle and clothing retailer’s stock price had been run up throughout the previous three quarters. This actually presents investors a great time to buy URBN on the dip.
