David Livingston

Has Target Got It All Wrong?

Target is too busy trying to figure out how to sell groceries outside of Minnesota. Actually they really don't know how to sell them in Minnesota but since they are a home town favortie, consumers give them a pass.

Target is wasting too much time and energy trying to be politically correct. I see no compelling reason to shop them. Their employees are a slight step up in class compared to Wal-Mart, their customers a huge step up in class, but prices are insulting. Just go to Wal-Mart, wade through the trailer park crowd, and get what you need.

Analysts Can't Agree on Grocery Sector Outlook

I agree that the analyst all have their own agenda and many are regularly wrong.

Unfortunately for the analysts, the grocers that are doing the best are privately held. The smartest people in the industry typically work for the best run privately held grocers.

The stock market, individual grocery stocks, and how well a grocery is actually doing operations wise, are much of the time mutually exclusive events. A grocer can be doing quite well, but if the stock is selling off, the price dives. A grocer can be doing poorly but if some analyst can find a reason to promote the stock, they will, and the price will rise for a day or two.

Many analyst only make their assessments on public documents, conference calls, and executive interviews. Those are probably the three worst sources of information.