Fred’s (FRED) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.25-0.31 for the period, compared to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimate of $0.31.

Shares of Fred’s (FRED) opened at 13.77 on Thursday. Fred’s (FRED) has a one year low of $12.70 and a one year high of $15.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average is currently $13.30. The company has a market cap of $505.3 million and a P/E ratio of 15.44.

Fred’s last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 20th. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $452.60 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in 2012, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Fred’s has set its Q4 guidance at $0.31-0.36 EPS and its FY13 guidance at $0.94-0.99 EPS. Analysts expect that Fred’s (FRED) will post $0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Several analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Analysts at Wedbush reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Fred’s in a research note to investors on Friday, December 28th. They now have a $14.00 price target on the stock. On a related note, analysts at SunTrust downgraded shares of Fred’s from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note to investors on Wednesday, November 28th. Finally, analysts at Zacks reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Fred’s in a research note to investors on Friday, November 23rd. They now have a $14.00 price target on the stock.

FRED’S, Inc. (FRED’S) operates discount general merchandise stores in 15 states primarily in the southeastern United States.

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