What do you do if you’re Conn’s (CONN), you’re stock has plunged nearly 60% in 2014 and there’s no end in sight? You explore strategic alternatives, that’s what. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey’s David Magee and Lynda Guthmann explore the possibilities for Conn’s, including who might want to buy the beaten down retailer/lender:
The strategic alternatives would apparently consist of:
(1) Spinning off part or all of the credit business. This would be the most likely, in our opinion, and would remove a lot of the volatility from the Conn’s shares. General Electric (GE) spun off its N.A. Retail Finance unit (12% of its credit business; now called Synchrony Financial (SYF)) earlier this year – while Conn’s credit caters to a much different customer, the growth prospects are probably higher. A very rough approximation of potential value would suggest that the credit side (based on price to sales) could be worth up to $10 per share….meaning that the retail side trades at only 7x-8x earnings.
(2) Selling the entire company. Perhaps a top line-challenged firm such as Best Buy (BBY) could be interested? Maybe not, but we think that BBY would at least take a look.
(3) Slowing down the growth of the firm. While this would technically remove some of the volatility from the Conn’s shares, it would be, in our opinion, the least likely of the three. Even with the bumps in credit, Conn’s is poised to continue to capture disproportionate market share as it expands from its modest (86 unit) chain size.
Shares of Conn’s have gained 1% to $33.27 at 3:07 p.m., while General Electric has dropped 0.9% to $25.17, Synchrony Financial has risen 0.6% to $24.99 and Best Buy has fallen 2.7% to $32.46.
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