Shoe Carnival upgraded despite profit setback

A Soleil Securities analyst upgraded the stock of Evansville-based Shoe Carnival Inc. today despite a lackluster earnings report from the company yesterday.

Jeffrey Stein, who declined to discuss his reasoning, moved the retailer to “Hold” from “Sell.”

Shoe Carnival said net profit in its fiscal first quarter ended May 3 plummeted nearly 35 percent, to $4.8 million, from the same period last year. A “challenging economic environment” is hurting moderate-income customers, the company said.

Sales of $162.1 million were down $3.6 million. The company also continued to struggle with slumping same-store sales, which declined 4.9 percent.

Shoe Carnival shares closed 86 cents higher yesterday and were up another 61 cents this morning to trade at $14.54.