Sears Holdings price target cut by Deutsche Bank

ATLANTA, May 6 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank cut its price target on Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday and kept its sell rating, saying comments at the retailer's annual meeting on Monday gave little assurance that its operations were on the right track.

Goldman Sachs also repeated its sell rating on the operator of Kmart and Sears stores, citing a lack of a strategy to boost sales in softline categories such as apparel.

Sears Holdings shares fell more than 5 percent at mid-afternoon.

In a research note, Deutsche Bank analyst Bill Dreher cited concern that Sears' "incredibly complicated" reorganization into different business units could lead to added missteps for the company.

Dreher said Sears executives gave few details on the new operating model or how the company was looking to create a more relevant shopping experience.

"Sears Holdings simply does not have the systems or operational procedures to control business in this extremely difficult retailing environment," Dreher said.

At the annual meeting on Monday, hedge fund manager and Sears Chairman Edward Lampert said the retailer has seen no evidence of economic improvement.

Sears is expected to report lower first-quarter profit later this month, and sales at stores open at least a year have fallen for the past two years.

As the tough U.S. economy and housing slump hurts home-goods sales, "a viable game plan to restore profitable top-line growth within the softlines business is still lacking," said Goldman Sachs analyst Adrianne Shapira in a research note.