Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS) climbed on Thursday, after the company reported mixed first-quarter results.
Here are the key analyst insights:
- DA Davidson analyst Michael Baker maintained a Buy rating and price target of $260.
- Guggenheim Securities analyst Steven Forbes reiterated a Neutral rating on the stock.
Check out other analyst stock ratings.
DA Davidson: Although Dick’s Sporting Goods failed to deliver a perfect quarter, at least most of the important metrics came in better than expected, Baker said in a note. He added that the Foot Locker turnaround seems to be accelerating, given:
- Foot Locker stores generated 0.6% comps and profits of $17 million, both beating consensus estimates of a negative 1.3% comp and an operating loss of $9 million.
- Success of the Fast Break initiative, with double-digit comps from the 100 Fast Break stores.
- North American comps of 1.4% and "even more impressively a 6.4% increase in the U.S. Foot Locker bannered stores."
The company's core business remained healthy, given comp growth of 6.0%, the best in over a year, the analyst stated. "Favorable comps were broad based across the three main categories of footwear, apparel and hardlines, with no signs of a trade down and strength among all income cohorts," he further wrote.
With management's longer-term strategies "playing out" and the stock trading at a discount, the current pressure on the share price "will be bought," Baker noted.
Guggenheim Securities: Although Dick’s Sporting Goods reported its operating results broadly ahead of expectations, with a 1.5%-2.0% beat in net sales and gross profits, its aggregate performance was mixed, Forbes said. The Foot Locker segment delivered a positive comp for the first time since the second quarter of 2024, driven primarily by the Fast Break initiative, he added.
The Foot Locker segment was responsible for the company's entire adjusted EBITDA beat of around $26 million, the analyst stated. He noted, however, that:
- The core segment's gross margin shrank around 35 basis points (bps) year-over-year.
- The core segment's expenses rose 7.6% year-over-year.
- The Foot Locker segment's lower-than-anticipated inventory recoveries lifts "the expected one-time charges (and cash outflows) by ~$50 million."
DKS Price Action: Dick’s Sporting Goods shares were up 4.35% at $228.73 at the time of publication on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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