SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 27, 1999 (PRIMEZONE) -- First Security Van Kasper retail analyst Jeanne M. Kraus today initiated coverage of Coldwater Creek Inc. (Nasdaq:CWTR) with a BUY rating and a 12-month price target of $27. Kraus projects Coldwater Creeks' earnings per share to grow 24 percent in fiscal 2000 to $1.26, excluding a one-time gain of $0.05 from the sale of the company's Milepost Four catalog. Earnings estimates of $1.52 in fiscal 2001 represent growth of 21 percent.
Founded in 1984, Coldwater Creek is a retailer of distinctive women's apparel, jewelry, gift items, home accessories and furniture through its catalogs, Northcountry, Spirit of the West and Coldwater Creek Home, via its e-commerce web site at www.coldwatercreek.com, and through a selective base of highly visible retail stores.
"In the first two quarters of this year, the company has demonstrated improved profitability while successfully opening a new distribution center," said Kraus. "The company reported impressive Internet results for its most recent quarter, and its advertising plan, in conjunction with alliances with web-based malls, should propel those results higher."
First Security Van Kasper, founded in 1978, is an investment banking, private client and institutional brokerage firm with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Fresno, Walnut Creek, Sacramento, San Diego and Newport Beach, California and Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the company became a subsidiary of Salt Lake City-based First Security Corporation (Nasdaq:FSCO), the second largest independent bank holding company in the West, with more than $20 billion in assets.
First Security Van Kasper is ranked among the top West Coast firms in terms of number of transactions and total dollars raised in public offerings of common stock, convertible securities and fixed-income instruments. The firm also places securities privately, advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions and performs valuation services. Through its investment management subsidiary, Van Kasper Advisors, the company manages assets for corporations, retirement plans, trusts, fiduciaries, financial institutions and individuals. For more information about First Security Van Kasper, the upcoming growth stock conference, please visit the company's Web site at www.fsvk.com.