My latest column is up at RealMoney. Here’s a quick preview:

At a presentation Tuesday, Saks (SKS) CEO Steve Sadove outlined the plans for long-term operating improvement, which includes growing operating margins to 8%. The plan requires:

• Outsized comparable store sales growth;
• Gross margin rate improvement; and
• Cost effective infrastructure.

However, according to a recent 8k filing, same store sales are down 0.1% for the two months ending April 5, and 2.9% for the five weeks ended April 7. In other words, the decline is accelerating.

Furthermore, Sadove said that luxury consumers were responding to promotional events and added that “you’re going to see more promotions over the course of the first part of this year” as retailers look to clear excess inventory. That likely means shrinking gross margins going forward, thus knocking the second leg out from under management’s plan.

Its price/book ratio, at 1.6 times, is double the department store industry average despite Saks’ below-average return on equity and average net margin. Macy’s (M) is already showing the performance levels Saks is only striving towards, and its price/book ratio is just 1.12 times.

If over the next five years Saks were to improve operations to Macy’s level, and get Macy’s valuation as a result, it would merit a $14.00 price target at the end of five years. To get a 10% annual return over that time, you’d need to start from a price of $8.75 - 33% below the current value.

Disclosure: At time of publication, William Trent holds no financial position in the companies mentioned in this article.

In some ways, having a one-letter ticker symbol is considered prestigious - a sign that the company was able to stake an early claim on the stock market real estate. Whether true or not, Federated Department Stores is after one of the few remaining available letters following its planned name change to Macy’s.

M Is Not For Microsoft - Forbes.com

“M” was once thought to be reserved by the New York Stock Exchange for Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people ), which is listed on the Nasdaq Composite as “MSFT.”The letter was available, so that made it fair game for Federated, which has traded under the ticker symbol “FD” on the New York Stock Exchange since 1992.

Of the more than 3,100 companies whose stocks trade on the NYSE, the following one-letter symbols are available: G, I, J, L, N, P, U, V, W and Z.

Federated Chief Executive Terry Lundgren made it sound like it’s a positive change in corporate strategy rather than just a sexier, more attractive letter.

“Changing the parent company name to Macy’s Inc.,” Lundgren said in a news release, “while trading our shares under the ‘M’ ticker symbol will make it simple and clear for all investors to understand we are a brand-driven and consumer-oriented company.”

So just how prestigious is the honor? You be the guide as we scroll through the list of existing one-letter tickers. (We promise we are going only by memory - for the CNBC Trivia crowd, have some fun and try to fill in the blanks or catch us out if we are wrong!

A - Agilent

B - ?

C - Citigroup (formerly Chrysler until the Daimler thingy)

D - ?

E - ?

F - Ford

G - Not in use

H - ?

I - Not in use

J - used to be Jackpot, Inc. Were they bought?

K - Kellogg

L - Not in use

M - Soon to be Macy’s

N - Was Inco

O - ?

P - Not in use

Q - Qwest Communications

R - Ryder System

S - Sprint Nextel (used to be Sears)

T - AT&T

U - Not in use

V - Not in use

W - Not in use

X - US Steel
Y - ?
Z - Not in use

So… three telecom companies and a bunch of old line firms. You decide how prestigious it is, and comment below on our shortcomings.

Watch List Companies

Jos a Bank (JOSB): Men’s clothing retailer JoS. A. Bank Clothiers Inc. said Thursday that sales at stores open at least one year, or same-store sales, increased 8.5 percent for the month of June, easily beating Wall Street expectations for a 4.3 percent boost.

BJ’s Wholesale (BJ): June sales fell 0.1 percent at its stores open at least a year as record-breaking rainfall hurt demand, and it lowered its quarterly profit forecast. Analysts, on average, expected 2.4 percent growth, according to estimates compiled by Reuters.

TJX Companies (TJX): Discount clothing retailer TJX Cos. on Thursday said June same-store sales rose 4 percent, beating both internal and Wall Street estimates, and prompting the company to estimate second-quarter earnings will be at or above the high end of its previous forecast.

Wall Street expected same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, to add 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Financial.

Other Notable Retailers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) and other top U.S. retailers posted disappointing June sales on Thursday as soaring energy prices and record-breaking rains in the Northeast curbed consumer spending.

But mid-priced chains such as J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (JCP) and Kohl’s Corp. (KSS) reported strong gains, suggesting that some shoppers stayed away from more expensive department stores. Federated Department Stores Inc. (FD), owner of Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s, recorded lower-than-expected sales.

Overall, sales rose 2.8 percent at stores open at least a year — a key retail measure known as same-store sales. That was slightly below forecasts for a 3 percent gain, according to research firm Retail Metrics.

Apparel retailer Limited Brands Inc. (LTD), warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), and home decor chain Pier 1 Imports Inc. (PIR) were among the chains missing Wall Street’s sales targets.