The Men's Wearhouse, Inc. (NYSE:MW)

Even as ubiquitous as it is, there's plenty of room for growth in this space. The company's debt is almost entirely AP and deferred taxes, and the cash is (wisely) going heavy into stock repurchase and equipment. Good margins, value-priced.

Popped up on a Benjamin Graham screener and trades around $27 despite its Graham Number of $35.

While it doesn't technically meet Graham's 7 requirements for a defensive stock due to its young-ish dividend, it does a growing one around 2.6%.

- 50th best place to work for according to Forbes, great to see in the retail space
- $138 million cash and no debt
- strong margins and a slow and steady growth strategy
- corporate apparel turned profitable over the last year
- trades at a cheaper valuation to Jos. A. Bank and Macy's but has proven to be the safest bet of the three historically

All in all, regardless of its 6 year old dividend, Men's Wearhouse matches Graham's defensive stock requirements and I am willing to wager a CAPS pick on his investing strategy. 5+ years

Suit retailer

This company will really conquer the S&P 500 performance. This weeks for sure.

The average store per sales appears to have significantly reduced while their store count is up 70% since 2006. The drop is to 2MM per year from 2.6MM. However, lately, their sss is rising. This trend could improve operating margin up from 7% to historic 9-11%. If that happens, there will be significantly boost in EPS without a need to invest in new stores.
Latest P = 31.83, EPS = 2.31, shares outstanding 50.93. P/E 13.77. I am looking for EPS increase along with P/E increase to 17-18 by 2015 if things go well for the company.

I love me an income stock, and Men's Wearhouse has plenty of room to grow their dividend over the next few years thanks to a measly payout ratio of 23. MW's dividend has grown 260% in the last six years, and I believe both the dividend and the company itself will grow in the future.

No more debt, equity keeps improving, net income and revenue are on the rise once again. Looks like they are fully on their way to a comeback.

Worst invesmtment reason, they sent me a direct mailing for prom tux's with a $40 coupon because I had previously rented a tux from them....only thing is that was 5 years ago. If you're going to use direct mailings be specific and save money. For example send it to guys who rented one a year ago and haven't rented one for more than 2/3 consecutive years. It shows carelessness

GOOD DAILY BUY

Chart broke out of long base. Should go to $40+ in next year.

Simply put, money is the motive. MW is stuck in between designer labels and discount clothing prices, and therefore miss both markets. With fewer people going to work for the next few months, and those that are employed looking to cut costs, I think the demand for medium priced suits is going to see hard times. Those that have money will spend it designer items, and those that don't have money won't spend it.

Men's Wearhouse will pick up when the job market bounces back because men will have to purchase new attire for job interviewing and for new hired positions. I don't think I would buy the stock right now, but once I see the price stop declining and the job market news rebound. I think MW may trade sideways for a while before going back up, that could be a buy signal.

Like the product.

GOOD MEN STORE

good store

MW is a true value play (wait, don't leave!). By value, I mean that it's cheap, not "value trap" like GE with mountains of debt. Let's take a look at Men's Warehouse:

#1 - Fundamentals: Total assets = $611 million, Total liabilities = $388 million. Price/Sales = .30, Trailing P/E = 8.1, Price/Book = .71.

#2 - They sell the same products as the competition, cheaper, and provide good service. Their discount retailer status should serve them well during this crisis.

#3 - Very little debt. It's so rare these days, and yet still taken for granted. Highly leveraged companies (cough, GE, cough) are what you wanna steer clear of now.

#4 - Beaten down - 20% of MW's float is shorted. It's down from a high of over $50 in 2007 to $11 today. It may have farther to fall, especially with earnings coming up, but expectations are LOW and I think it's a good bet here, having reached what I loosely consider "dirt-cheap" status.

#5 - A sustainable dividend of 2.4%. Their dividend payout ratio is only 20%. I love this kind of conservative management in this environment. (Note: their dividend was the same at $50 as it is now, it wasn't the company who got ahead of themselves...)

Just a hunch,a well run company.

obsolete business model/product

This one for longer term hold.