Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB) from NEUTRAL to UNDERPERFORM on March 25, 2014, with a target price of $52.00.
Based on lower-than-expected fourth-quarter fiscal 2014 results, along with soft fiscal 2015 guidance, we have downgraded our long-term recommendation on Hibbett to Underperform. The downside was due to soft sales performance in January, stemming from an extremely chilly weather that forced store closures and weak sales from the college football championship game this year. Results also suffered due to difficult comparisons from the prior-year quarter, given the additional week in fiscal 2013. We remain skeptical about the stock's performance on anticipation of competitive risk from DICK's Sporting, which has entered smaller and mid-sized markets. Moreover, we believe that the lack of new construction activities in smaller markets may hinder Hibbett's store expansion plans.
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