Why Vitamin Shoppe Shares Jumped

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: Shares of the Vitamin Shoppe (NYS: VSI) were looking healthier today, gaining as much as 14% on a strong third-quarter earnings report.

So what: Sales at the nutritional-products retailer jumped 14%, while EPS improved by 35% to $0.54, well ahead of Wall Street estimates at $0.45. Same-store sales grew briskly by 9.6%, and online sales climbed 17%. In total, the company expects to open 52 stores this year and 57 more in 2013, and it's eyeing mid-single-digits comps for next year. Vitamin Shoppe currently has about 550 retail locations.

Now what: Shares of the retailer aren't cheap, with a P/E of 31, but its latest quarterly report seems to show why. With a solid growth plan through new stores, increasing same-store sales and online revenue, the stock could continue to push higher in the years to come. I'd like to see better than 14% revenue growth for a company with this kind of valuation, but otherwise there's nothing to complain about here.

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The article Why Vitamin Shoppe Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Jeremy Bowman and The Motley Fool have no positions in the stocks mentioned above. 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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