It's time to buy Caleres ahead of the footwear company's earnings next month, according to Piper Sandler. Analyst Abbie Zvejnieks upgraded shares to overweight from neutral following a preannouncement from Caleres earlier this month that bolstered her confidence in the footwear stock. The Missouri-based company behind Famous Footwear and other brands said that it expects record annual sales and adjusted earnings per share for fiscal year 2022 when it posts results in March.
However, the analyst's $35 price target, up from $26, is more than than 34% higher than Friday's closing price for the stock. Caleres shares jumped more than 3% in trading Tuesday. For Zvejnieks, improvements Caleres made during the pandemic suggest the footwear stock is now undervalued. Caleres lowered its debt, exited four underperforming brands and closed more than 200 stores, according to the note.