Hibbett 4Q Profit Exceeds Estimates As E-commerce Sales Boom; Shares Tank 4%

Hibbett Sports, an athletic-inspired fashion retailer, posted better-than-expected fiscal 4Q earnings, driven by strong e-commerce sales. Meanwhile, net sales for the quarter missed analysts’ expectations. Shares closed almost 4% lower on March 5.

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Hibbett’s (HIBB) 4Q adjusted earnings more than doubled to $1.40 per share, compared to $0.51 reported in the prior-year period, and beat analysts’ expectations of $1.37. Net sales of $376.83 million missed the Street’s estimates of $378.42 million but advanced 20.4% from the year-ago period.

The company’s comparable sales increased 21.9%, while brick and mortar comparable sales surged 17.7%. E-commerce comparable sales jumped 44.8%. Additionally, the adjusted gross margin was 37.1%, up from 31.3% in the prior-year quarter. (See Hibbett stock analysis on TipRanks)

Hibbett CEO Mike Longo said, “Following a record year, we believe the Hibbett and City Gear brands are positioned very well in the industry and the momentum we have created in Fiscal 2021 is sustainable.”

For fiscal year 2022, the company projects comparable sales to range from negative low-single digits to positive low-single digits. EPS is anticipated to range between $5.00 and $5.50, versus analysts’ expectations of $5.13 per share.

On Feb. 22, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a price target of $80 (38% upside potential). The analyst believes “the company is well positioned” as “trends in fashion athletic footwear are strong and will remain that way.”

The rest of the Street is cautiously optimistic about the stock with a Moderate Buy consensus rating. That’s based on 2 Buys versus 1 Hold. The average analyst price target of $72.67 implies 25.3% upside potential to current levels. Shares have surged almost 68% over the past six months.

Additionally, Hibbett scores a 9 out of 10 from TipRanks’ Smart Score rating system, indicating that the stock has strong potential to outperform market expectations.