Hibbett Sports (HIBB)

Hibbett Sports Inc.'s (HIBB) third quarter earnings per share were $0.01 below consensus estimates, but the company raised its full-year EPS guidance from $0.93-$1.03 to $0.97-$1.04. Hibbett shares have held up reasonably well this year, despite the challenging retail environment. The company's results have been boosted by the company's continued store expansion, share buybacks and easy comparables in fiscal 2008.

Looking ahead to next year, the company should open another 60-70 stores, but it will not be buying back shares and comps from fiscal 2009 are much better than last year. That means EPS growth will have to come from stronger sales trends and/or higher profit margins.

We don't see either of those occurring in this difficult retail environment. We reiterate our Sell rating on Hibbett Sports. Our six-month target price is $9.50, or 10x our fiscal 2010 EPS estimate.

Hibbett Sports (HIBB) : FULL ANALYST REPORT

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