Cato Corp. same-store sales rise 4 percent

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected the retailer's same-store sales to fall by 2 percent.

Year-to-date, same-store sales declined 1 percent. Same-store sales for the third quarter ended Nov. 1 were down 2 percent.

"Comparable store sales for the quarter were at the lower end of our expectations and business remains very difficult," Chief Executive John Cato said in a statement.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are an important gauge of retail health because it measures growth at existing outlets rather than from expansion.

Cato, which is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings on Nov. 20, said it expects to "slightly" exceed its earlier projection that it would post somewhere between a 5-cent-per-share loss and a break-even quarter.

The company is expected to post a loss of 2 cents per share, according to the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.