Exclusive Analysis for the Discerning Investor
Dick’s Sporting Goods posted strong first-quarter results, but the potential impact from encroaching online competition remains unclear. We think Nike is a much better idea for investors looking to gain exposure to the athletic retail space.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) and Big 5 (BGFV) recently pre-announced dismal guidance for the fourth quarter of 2011. Though both companies cited a lack of winter weather as the main driver of poor same store sales growth, we think the stories at each company are quite different. Dick’s remains a steadily growing, well-run business focused on driving high returns on invested capital, whereas Big 5 is an inferior player focused on smaller markets that’s struggled to find its way. However, as with any investment, getting the right price remains key to our decision-making process, even for firms that may not be best-in-breed. Risk/reward at Dick’s Sporting Goods isn’t very compelling right now. With our fair value of Dick’s at $31 per share, and … Read more
By all accounts, Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) reported a strong third quarter. Same store sales were up 4.1%, earnings increased to $0.33 a share on a GAAP basis, up nearly 170% year-over-year. Additionally, management raised guidance to $2.01-$2.03 per share from $1.94-$1.96, although we don’t think the guidance raise is very surprising. Gross margins were also up about 125 basis points, which is likely to continue into the fourth quarter. We are maintaining our $30 fair value estimate. Dick’s continues to ride tailwinds in footwear and athletic apparel to higher revenue growth. The company also opened 19 new stores and posted strong comps in its burgeoning e-commerce business (16.8%). However, Golf Galaxy continues to post lackluster results as it reported … Read more
The ever expanding Dick’s Sporting Goods looks fairly valued With the recent tremendous success that we’ve seen in Under Armour (UA), Nike (NKE), and Adidas, it’s natural to look at the company bringing these products to the consumer. Not surprisingly, it’s a pretty competitive landscape, and we’re initiating coverage of the biggest player, Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) at a fair value of $30 per share. We think the market may be a little too enthusiastic about the company’s growth prospects. Riding the sports apparel tailwind If any company has benefited from the strength in Under Armour, it’s been Dick’s. The company accounts for over 30% of UA sales, and with its premium brand name, has been able … Read more
This article appeared on Seeking Alpha. Please view disclosures: https://seekingalpha.com/article/277117-big-5-sporting-goods-looks-extremely-undervalued-but-proceed-with-caution If you read nothing else, consider these 3 points: Big 5 is disproportionately affected by unemployment in its key home states The company continues to grow slowly and conservatively Big 5 finds homes in niche markets that Dick’s (DKS) and The Sports Authority aren’t interested in What Big 5 does Big 5 is a small sporting goods retailer with 396 stores in 12 western states. The vast majority of its shops are concentrated in California and Nevada. They sell shoes, apparel, athletic gear, and accessories. For shoppers in bigger cities, one might find The Sports Authority or Dick’s Sporting Goods, as Big 5’s stores operate on a much smaller scale. The … Read more
This article appeared on Seeking Alpha. Please view disclosures: https://seekingalpha.com/article/277905-under-armour-solid-company-but-shares-are-significantly-overvalued We wanted to provide subscribers with our thoughts on Under Armour (UA). Although we expect the company to follow Nike’s excellent results and post solid performance in its second quarter, the shares look significantly overvalued to us in the $75-$80 range. The risk-reward balance is not in investors’ favor at these levels. Apparel Remains Strong… If we can gather anything pertinent about Under Armour from Nike’s (NKE) earnings released Monday, we can see that athletic apparel, specifically in North America, is on fire. Year-to-date, Nike’s North American apparel sales are up 21%, including a second-quarter surge of 28%. This is consistent with the apparel growth we’ve seen at Adidas (ADDYY.PK) and Lululemon (LULU). Under Armour, with a smaller base than Nike, … Read more
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending August 27. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week Alpine Income Property Trust (PINE): now $0.255 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.250. Altria (MO): now $0.90 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.86. Atlanticus Holdings Corporation 7.625% PER PFD B (ATLCP): now $0.4977 per share quarterly dividend. Avnet (AVT): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.22. Bank of Hawaii (BOH): now $0.70 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.67. bebe stores (BEBE): now $0.15 per share … Read more
Below we provide a list of firms that raised their dividends during the week ending February 16. The dividend reports of covered firms on this list will be updated shortly with the new information. To access our dividend reports use the ‘Symbol’ search box in our website header. Firms Raising Their Dividends This Week AbbVie (ABBV): now $0.96 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.71. AllianceBernstein (AB): now $0.84 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.51. Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT): now $0.30 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.29. Apollo Global Management (APO): now $0.66 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.39. Arch Coal (ARCH): now $0.40 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.35. Auburn National (AUBN): now $0.24 per share quarterly dividend, was $0.23. … Read more
Image: We think a rather modest sell-off in the market to the target range of 2,350-2,750 on the S&P 500 is rather reasonable in the wake of one of the biggest economic shocks since the Global Financial Crisis. The chart above shows how far markets have advanced since 2011, and an adjustment lower to the target range of 2,350-2,750 is rather modest in such a context and would only bring markets to late 2018 levels (note red box as the target range). The range reflects ~16x S&P 500 12-month forward earnings estimates, as of February 14, adjusted down 10% due to COVID-19. When companies like Visa talk about a couple percentage points taken off of growth rates, one knows that … Read more