By Sarina Isaacs

Shares of Caleres were losing ground on disappointing third-quarter results and full-year guidance.

The stock was down 19% to $27.02 in early trading and hit a new 52-week low of $26.43 earlier in the session. It's off 5.9% for the year and 30% over the last three months.

The St. Louis-based operator of Famous Footwear said Thursday that it earned $41.4 million, or $1.19 a share. Adjusted earnings came to $1.23 a share, under the company's prior guidance of $1.30 to $1.40 a share and also missing the average analyst estimate of $1.36 a share, according to FactSet.

Quarterly sales came to $740.9 million, whereas analysts had sought $751.4 million.

Chief Executive Jay Schmidt attributed the poor third-quarter performance to several factors: "softer seasonal demand in the boot category, late receipts of key athletic product at Famous Footwear, and a discrete customer credit issue that impacted shipments."

For the full year, Caleres has cut its EPS guidance to $3.35 to $3.45 a share, down from the prior $3.94 to $4.09 a share. Adjusted EPS is now expected at $3.45 to $3.55 a share, also lower than the prior guide. Analyst expectations were for $4.03 a share.

Schmidt said the reduced outlook comes as the company expects the unfavorable sales trends to continue in the current quarter. He also anticipates a pressured gross margin as the company removes excess inventory in order to be better positioned for next year.

Write to Sarina Isaacs at sarina.isaacs@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 05, 2024 10:21 ET (15:21 GMT)

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