Why DSW Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shareholders of shoe retailer DSW (NYS: DSW) are doing their dance on the catwalk today after the company stepped over every first-quarter estimate thrown its way. Shares were up as much as 11% earlier this morning.

So what: For the quarter, DSW reported an 11% increase in sales to $558.6 million with same-store sales, a more important metric of overall retail health, jumping a robust 7.6%. DSW's adjusted profit came in at $0.98. These figures compare favorably to Wall Street's expectation for a profit of $0.90 on sales of $548.1 million. DSW once again held to its recent tradition and boosted its full-year EPS forecast to $3.25-$3.40 from its prior range of $3.20-$3.25 and forecast same-store sales increases of 3% to 5% this year. Finally, what would a great report be without a 20% dividend hike to $0.18 per quarter from $0.15?

Now what: Like I said, DSW absolutely crushed investors' expectations, and it's not planning on slowing down anytime soon. With plans to open another 25 stores by the end of the third quarter, don't be surprised if expenses rise considerably, but huge dividends will begin to be reaped from the expansion by as early as the fourth quarter.

The trend in shoe sales is unmistakable right now as I noted yesterday when looking at the strength behind Foot Locker (NYS: FL) and Brown Shoe (NYS: BWS) , which both blew past analysts' expectations on Friday. The trend is your friend until it says otherwise, and there's little reason to believe that shoe sales will weaken anytime soon. DSW shareholders could be in for a comfortable ride for many years to come.

Craving more input? Start by adding DSW to your free and personalized watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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