Five Below, Walmart top picks at Citi on recession fear

Carters

08/04/2022 11:32

** Citi names Walmart  WMT.N , Five Below  FIVE.O  and TJX
 TJX.N  among top U.S. retail picks as their low-priced focus
attracts investors now fearing the potential for recession due
to rapid interest rate hikes by the Fed
    ** Price gap compared with its rivals could help Walmart
gain more market share, while T.J. Maxx parent TJX would benefit
from customers buying more discounted clothes - analyst Paul
Lejuez
    ** Advance Auto Parts  AAP.N , AutoZone  AZO.N , Petco
 WOOF.O  and Tractor Supply  TSCO.O  are among other top picks
in retail - Lejuez
    ** Citi also expects clothing chain Boot Barn  BOOT.N  to
benefit from higher employment in oil and gas rigs as its
apparel is more needs-based than fashion-dependent - Citi
    ** Lejuez notes Kroger  KR.N , Costco  COST.O , Dollar
General  DG.N  and Dollar Tree  DLTR.O  performed the strongest
during the recessionary 2006-2010 period, with baby clothes
chain Carter's  CRI.N , TJX and Advance Auto Parts, Tractor
Supply and O'Reilly  ORLY.O  among other strong performers
    ** Foot Locker  FL.N , Gap  GPS.N , Home Depot  HD.N ,
Lowe's  LOW.N  and Macy's  M.N  had the longest negative
same-store sale streak during the period - brokerage
    ** S&P 500 consumer discretionary index  .SPLRCD  has
declined 11% this year, versus a 2% rise in the S&P 500 consumer
staples index  .SPLRCS 

 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com;))