Ascena Retail (ASNA)

Industry: Nonfood Retail-Wholesale

Price: $44.02

Chaikin Power Gauge Report | Generated: Mon Mar 26 12:22 EDT 2012 Power Gauge Rating

ASNA - Very Bullish

The Chaikin Power Gauge Rating for ASNA is very bullish due to very bullish price/volume activity, attractive financial metrics, strong earnings performance and positive expert opinions. Price and volume activity for ASNA is very bullish which is indicated by its price strength versus the market and positive Chaikin money flow.
TM

News Sentiment Rating

Bullish
ASNA Ascena Retail March 22, 2012

Chaikin Sentiment Gauge for ASNA is bullish. There is currently a significant positive sentiment within news stories concerning ASNA.

TM

News Sentiment :Positive

Power Trend - 5 Year Chart

The Power Gauge distills a 20 factor model into a concise picture of a stock's potential.

High Potential

Neutral

Low Potential

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Financials & Earnings

Financial Metrics

Financial Metrics Rating

LT Debt/Equity Ratio

Bullish
ASNA's financial metrics are very good. The company does not hold much long term debt relative to its industry group and yields a high return on shareholder's equity. The rank is based on a low long term debt to equity ratio relative to its industry group, high price to book value ratio, high return on equity, high price to sales ratio and relatively high cash flow.

Price to Book Value

Return on Equity

Price to Sales Ratio

Business Value

Assets and Liabilities

Ratio Current Ratio LT Debt/Equity TTM 2.36 0.15

Valuation
Ratio Price/Book Price/Sales TTM 2.68 1.16

Returns
Ratio Return on Invest Return on Equity TTM 15.2% 17.5%

Earnings Performance

Earnings Performance Rating

Earnings Growth

Bullish
ASNA's earnings performance has been strong. The company has a history of strong earnings growth and has outperformed analysts' earnings estimates. The rank is based on high earnings growth over the past 3-5 years, better than expected earnings in recent quarters and consistent earnings over the past 5 years.

Earnings Surprise

Earnings Trend

Projected P/E Ratio

Earnings Consistency

5 Year Revenue and Earnings Growth

07/07 Revenue(M) Rev % Growth EPS EPS % Growth 1,426.61 9.72% $1.63 26.36% 07/08 1,444.16 1.23% $1.23 -24.54% 07/09 1,494.24 3.47% $1.16 -5.69% 07/10 2,374.57 58.92% $1.85 59.48% 07/11 2,914.00 22.72% $2.18 17.84%

EPS Estimates
Factor Quarterly EPS Yearly EPS Factor 3-5 year EPS Actual EPS Prev $0.67 $2.18 Actual EPS Growth 19.21% EST EPS Current $0.79 $2.79 Est EPS Growth 15.00% Change +0.12 +0.61 Change -4.21

EPS Surprise
Estimate Latest Qtr 1 Qtr Ago 2 Qtr Ago 3 Qtr Ago $0.67 $0.64 $0.49 $0.65 Actual $0.81 $0.65 $0.48 $0.66 Difference $0.14 $0.01 $-0.01 $0.01 % Difference 20.90 1.56 -2.04 1.54

EPS Quarterly Results

FY 07/10 07/11 07/12 Qtr 1 $0.36 $0.61 $0.62 Qtr 2 $0.32 $0.54 $0.83 Qtr 3 $0.60 $0.67 Qtr 4 $0.53 $0.36 Total $1.81 $2.18 -

Fiscal Year End Month is July.

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Price Trend & Expert Opinions

Price/Volume Activity

Price/Volume Activity Rating

Relative Strength vs Market

Very Bullish
Price and volume activity for ASNA is very bullish. ASNA has outperformed the S&P 500 over 26 weeks and is experiencing sustained buying. The rank for ASNA is based on its price strength versus the market, positive Chaikin money flow, a positive Chaikin price trend, a negative Chaikin price trend ROC and an increasing volume trend.

Chaikin Money Flow

Price Trend

Price Trend ROC

Volume Trend

Relative Strength vs S&P500 Index

Chaikin Money Flow

Chart shows whether ASNA is performing better or worse than the market.

Chaikin Money Flow analyzes supply and demand for a company's stock.

Price Activity
Factor 52 Week High 52 Week Low % Change YTD Rel S&P 500 Value 44.47 24.86 30.91%

Price Activity
Factor % Change Price - 4 Weeks % Change Price - 24 Weeks % Change Price - 4 Wks Rel to S&P % Change Price - 24 Wks Rel to S&P Value 14.33% 55.20% 11.57% 29.41%

Volume Activity
Factor Average Volume 20 Days Average Volume 90 Days Chaikin Money Flow Persistency Value 1,155,806 821,753 83%

Expert Opinions

Expert Opinions

Earnings Estimate Revisions

Bullish
Expert opinions about ASNA are positive. Analysts are raising their EPS estimates for ASNA and analysts's opinions on ASNA have been more positive recently. The rank for ASNA is based on analysts revising earnings estimates upward, a high short interest ratio, optimistic analyst opinions and price strength of the stock versus the Nonfood Retail-Wholesale industry group.

Short Interest

Insider Activity

Analyst Opinions

Relative Strength vs Industry

Earnings Estimate Revisions

Current Current Qtr Next Qtr 0.79 0.58 Current Current FY 2.79 7 Days Ago % Change 0.79 0.58 0.00% 0.00%

Analyst Recommendations
Factor Mean this Week Mean Last Week Change Mean 5 Weeks Ago Value Buy Buy 0.00 Buy

EPS Estimates Revision Summary

Last Week Up Curr Qtr Curr Yr Next Qtr 0 0 0 0 Down 0 0 0 0 Last 4 Weeks Up 7 8 5 9 Down 1 0 2 0

30 Days Ago % Change 2.65 0.14

Next Yr

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The Company & Its Competitors

ASNA's Competitors in Nonfood Retail-Wholesale

Company ASNA FL JNY GPS JWN LTD PSS ANF Power Gauge Historic EPS growth 19.21% -0.21% -3.90% -1.74% 5.25% -0.23% 4.53% 5.69% Projected EPS growth 15.00% 10.25% 4.33% 10.43% 11.33% 14.44% 19.14% Profit Margin 6.21% 4.94% 1.32% 5.73% 6.45% 8.20% -4.75% 3.07% PEG 1.05 1.35 2.63 1.38 1.40 1.19 0.75 PE 16.93 17.02 8.78 16.85 17.10 18.46 31.64 22.18 Revenue(M) 2,914 5,623 3,785 14,549 10,877 10,364 3,462 4,158

News Headlines for ASNA Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Announces Two-forOne Stock Split - Mar 8, 2012 Ascena Retail Group 2Q income up 50 percent Mar 1, 2012 Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Announces Strong Holiday Sales and Raises Fiscal 2012 Earnings Per Share Guidance - Jan 5, 2012 Ascena authorizes another $100M in stock buybacks - Sep 23, 2011 Ascena Retail Group, Inc. Announces Board Authorization of an Additional $100 Million Stock Repurchase Program - Sep 23, 2011

Company Details Ascena Retail 30 DUNNIGAN DRIVE SUFFERN, NY 10901 USA Phone: 845.369.4500 Fax: 845-369-4829 Website: http://www.ascenaretail.com Full Time Employees: 31,000 Sector: Retail/Wholesale

Company Profile Ascena Retail Group, Inc, formerly known as The Dress Barn, Inc., operates as a national specialty retailer of apparel for women and girls under the Dressbarn, Maurices and Justice brands. Its Dressbarn stores offer casual, career and special occasion fashion apparel and accessories; Maurices stores offer casual and career apparel and accessories; and Justice stores offer trend-right apparel and accessories. Ascena Retail Group, Inc. is based in Suffern, New York.

Power Gauge Ratings are created using a relative ranking system that assigns a rank of 0 to 100 (100 being the highest) to each stock in the universe. Rank is calculated by evaluating each of the stocks factors and combining them into a single number using a weighting formula. A stock's rank ranges from 100-0, where 100 is the strongest, and a rank of 95 indicates the stock is better than 95% of the stocks in the universe. Chaikin Stock Research(CSR) is not registered as a securities broker dealer or investment advisor with either the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or with any state securities regulatory authority. CSR is not responsible for trades executed by users of this research report, our web site or mobile app based on the information included herein. The information presented in this report does not represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks or any financial instrument nor is it intended as an endorsement of any security or investment. The information in this report is generic by nature and is not personalized to the specific financial situation of any individual. The user bears complete responsibility for their own investment research and should seek the advice of a qualified investment professional before making any investment decisions. Copyright (c) 1978-(Present) by ZACKS Investment Research, Inc ("ZACKS"). The information, data, analyses and opinions contained herein (1) includes the confidential and proprietary information of ZACKS, (2) may not be copied or redistributed, for any purpose, (3) does not constitute investment advice offered by ZACKS, (4) are provided solely for informational purposes, and (5) are not warranted or represented to be correct, complete, accurate or timely. ZACKS shall not be responsible for investment decisions, damages or other losses resulting from, or related to, use of this information, data, analyses or opinions. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. ZACKS is not affiliated with Chaikin Power Tools. This report from Chaikin Power Tools is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities.

LM 2.3 DS 3.0 LS 2.1

Data Provided by ZACKS Investment Research, Inc., www.zacks.com

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