Alexander Eule, a  Barron’s analyst, recommended Hanesbrands:

Track his picks at:

http://trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=203

a. HANESBRANDS IS NOT SEEING much in the way of sales growth these days, but the underwear maker still has much to offer on the bottom line.

b. Last year, Hanesbrands sold $4.5 billion worth of underwear, T-shirts, socks, intimate apparel and athletic wear. The company’s brands include Hanes, Champion, Just My Size, Playtex, Bali, Barely There, L’eggs and Wonderbra. The company says it ranks first or second by U.S. sales in each of its core categories.

c. many investors remain skeptical, a sentiment that was supported in late July by Hanes’ less-than-stellar second-quarter results, which included a 4.4% sales decline. Shares tumbled 18% on the news before settling at a 52-week low of $21.38 on Aug. 1.

c. Chief Executive Officer Richard Noll concedes the company needs to sharpen its focus when it comes to its Wonderbra and Barely There bra lines. The brands were overshadowed by the company’s larger product lines, he says. We’re now putting tactical plans in place to correct that include “shifting a little bit of media money back to those brands.”

d. The company has promised investors adjusted earnings growth of at least 15% over the next three to five years. Such earnings performance coincides with a long-term forecast calling for annual sales gains of just 1% to 3%.

e. The CEO bought $1.1 million in stock on Aug. 1, the same day shares hit their year low. Three other insiders bought company stock that day for a total of $600,000, according to InsiderScore.com.

f.  The stock trades at a paltry 8.9 times 2009 earnings-per-share estimates, a significant discount to both branded consumer-products companies and fashion apparel makers

g. The CEO says Asia will “kick in in a big way in 2009 and 2010.” The company plans to have 6,000 employees in Asia by the end of this year, up from a few hundred at the time of the spinoff.