Post Earnings Coverage as Five Below's Quarterly Net Sales Increased 18.9%; EPS Gained 16.9%

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Upcoming AWS Coverage on ZAGG Post-Earnings Results

LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 4, 2017 / Active Wall St. announces its post-earnings coverage on Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIVE). The Company disclosed its fourth quarter and fiscal 2016 financial results on March 22, 2017. The discount retailer outperformed sales and earnings expectations. Register with us now for your free membership at:

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One of Five Below's competitors within the Specialty Retail, Other space, ZAGG Inc. (NASDAQ: ZAGG), reported on March 07, 2017, its financial results for the full year and fourth quarter ending December 31, 2016. AWS will be initiating a research report on ZAGG in the coming days.

Today, AWS is promoting its earnings coverage on FIVE; touching on ZAGG. Get our free coverage by signing up to

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Earnings Reviewed

For the three months ended January 28, 2017, Five Below's net sales increased 18.9% to $388.1 million from $326.4 million in Q4 FY15, while comparable sales increased 1.0%. The Company's revenue surpassed analysts' consensus of $388 million. For the fifty-two weeks ended January 28, 2017, Five Below's net sales increased 20.2% to $1.00 billion compared to $832.0 million in the comparable period in FY15.

The Company's gross profit increased 20.6% to $159.4 million in Q4 FY16 compared to $132.2 million reported in the year earlier same quarter. The Company's gross margin increased by approximately 60 basis points to 41.1%, driven by improved merchandise shrink results and leverage from its new distribution center the Company added in the second quarter of 2015. As a percentage of sales, SG&A for the fourth quarter of 2016 increased to 20.8% from 19.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015, largely due to deleverage of expenses on the 1% comp. For Q4 FY16, Five Below's operating income increased 17.1% to $78.9 million from $67.4 million in Q4 FY15. The Company's operating income increased 22.6% to $114.0 million compared to $92.9 million in the comparable period in fiscal 2015.

During Q4 FY16, Five Below's net income was $49.8 million, an increase of 18.5% compared to $42.0 million in Q4 FY15. The Company's diluted income per common share was $0.90, an increase of 16.9% compared to $0.77 in the year earlier comparable quarter. The Company's earnings numbers outperformed market expectations of $0.89 per share.

For FY16, Five Below's net income was $71.8 million, an increase of 24.5% compared to $57.7 million in FY15. The Company's diluted income per common share was $1.30, an increase of 23.8% compared to $1.05 per share in the comparable period.

The Company opened 5 net new stores and ended the quarter with 522 stores in 31 states. This represents an increase of 19.5% from the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015. The Company opened 85 net new stores compared to 71 net new stores opened in fiscal 2015.

Balance Sheet

Five Below ended the year with approximately $164 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short- and long-term investment securities, and no debt.

Outlook

For Q1 FY17, Five Below's net sales are expected to be in the range of $228 million to $232 million based on opening approximately 26 new stores and assuming a flat to 2% increase in comparable sales. The Company's net income is expected to be in the range of $6.6 million to $7.6 million, with a diluted income per common share range of $0.12 to $0.14 on approximately 55.3 million estimated diluted weighted average shares outstanding.

For FY17, Five Below's net sales are expected to be in the range of $1.21 billion to $1.23 billion based on opening approximately 100 new stores and assuming a low single digit increase in comparable sales. The Company is forecasting net income to be in the range of $86.0 million to $89.5 million, with a diluted income per common share range of $1.55 to $1.61 per share.

Stock Performance

At the closing bell, on Monday, April 03, 2017, Five Below's stock dropped 1.89%, ending the trading session at $42.49. A total volume of 1.30 million shares were traded at the end of the day. In the last month and previous three months, shares of the Company have advanced 8.86% and 6.33%, respectively. Moreover, the stock gained 6.33% since the start of the year. Shares of the company have a PE ratio of 32.63 and have a market cap of $2.36 billion.

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SOURCE: Active Wall Street