Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB) from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL on April 17, 2013, with a target price of $57.00.
Anticipating competitive risk from Dick's Sporting's strategic move of entering smaller and mid-sized markets, we have downgraded our long-term recommendation on Hibbett to Neutral. Moreover, we believe that due to lack of new construction activities in smaller markets, Hibbett may have to hold back its fiscal 2014 store expansion plans. However, from valuation perspective, the stock looks attractive as it trades at a discount to the industry average. Moreover, the company has a history of beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the last 10 quarters. Driven by robust sales performance in every category along with operational efficiencies, Hibbett's last reported earnings for fourth-quarter fiscal 2013 surged 23.7% year over year to $0.73 and surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Net sales jumped over 14% to $217.4 million. Buoyed by better-than-expected bottom-line performance, continued sales strength along with improved cost management and margins, the company expects its fiscal 2014 earnings to come between $2.85 and $3.05 per share, versus fiscal 2013 earnings of $2.72.
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