Foot Locker has a new chief financial officer, Andrew Page, who once served as Under Armour's chief accounting officer.
David Paul Morris/BloombergFoot Locker named a new chief financial officer on Thursday, a move that drove up the shoe retailer’s stock.
Andrew Page steps into the Foot Locker (ticker: FL) role on April 12; he succeeds Lauren Peters, who is retiring. Page was most recently chief accounting officer and controller at Advance Auto Parts (AAP) and—perhaps more relevant to investors—has also served as chief accounting officer at Under Armour (UAA).
Like investors, Jefferies analyst Janine Stichter is upbeat about Page’s appointment. She reiterated a Buy rating on the stock and raised her price target to $64 from $57, citing main supplier Nike’s (NKE) most recent earnings.
Stichter writes that Page “brings both public company experience as well as knowledge of the athletic apparel/footwear space.” She expects him to go ahead with Foot Locker’s strategy and priorities—more investments in digital capabilities, cost discipline, and optimization of real estate.
The shoe retailer’s shares ended up 4.7% at $ 56.15. The stock has gained more than 37% year to date and is up nearly 137% in the past 12 months.
In contrast, shares of Nike struggled, closing down 3.4% at $128.64. Besides being dogged by fiscal third-quarter numbers that fell just shy of expectations, the athletic giant is caught up in a human-rights conflict in China’s Xinjiang region.
The U.S., Britain, the European Union, and Canada have imposed sanctions against Chinese officials for alleged human-rights abuses in Xinjiang, home to Uighurs, an ethnic and religious minority group. Now, several Western brands are being targeted by China’s ruling party. On Thursday, Nike was criticized for making “cutting remarks” about Xinjiang cotton.
Write to Teresa Rivas at teresa.rivas@barrons.com
March 26, 2021 at 04:42AM
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