Why Shares of Shoe Carnival Soared 22% Today

After year-to-date declines in the neighborhood of 40%, shares of Shoe Carnival Inc. (NASDAQ: SCVL), a leading retailer of moderately priced family footwear, are clawing their way back upward Thursday: The stock was up 22% as of 1 p.m. EDT after the company reported a better-than-expected second quarter.

Starting from the top line, Shoe Carnival's net sales increased a modest 1.4% to $235.1 million during Q2, which checked in above analysts' consensus estimate of $231.3 million. Comparable-store sales were slightly less impressive with a 0.4% increase; however given the number of brick-and-mortar retailers experiencing declining comps, a small gain was good enough for investors. Shoe Carnival also reported that earnings per share jumped 9.1% in the quarter to $0.24, which was better than analysts' estimates calling for $0.20 per share.

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Source: Fool.com