Discount footwear retailer Payless ShoeSource Inc. on Thursday said September same-store sales slipped 0.6 percent, missing Wall Street’s forecast for growth.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial estimated same-store sales – or sales at stores open at least one year – would rise 0.7 percent during the month. Total sales in September fell 2.2 percent to $235.7 million from $240.9 million in the same month a year ago.

Topeka-based Payless said it shut 130 stores in areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina, 28 of which remain closed, and shut 139 stores after Hurricane Rita, of which 12 remain closed.

Payless shares closed Thursday at $16.61, down 19 cents, on the New York Stock Exchange.