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Hibbett (HIBB) Skyrockets in a Year: Will the Rally Continue?

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Shares of Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB - Free Report) have not only surged in the past year but also significantly outperformed the industry and the sector. Notably, the stock has skyrocketed 100% compared with the industry and Retail-Wholesale sector’s growth of 14.8% and 34.1%, respectively. Such a bullish run on the bourses can be attributable to the earnings beat in third-quarter fiscal 2021. Also, both top and bottom lines improved year over year. Results gained from improved traffic in stores and website stemming from pent-up customer demand.

Moreover, the company witnessed strong momentum in online sales and new customer acquisitions. Apart from these, solid performance in apparel, accessories and footwear along with a shift in the timing of the back-to-school season contributed to quarterly growth. Encouragingly, management expects the top-line momentum to continue in the near term.

In fourth-quarter fiscal 2021, the bottom line is expected to be $1-$1.1 per share, whose midpoint of $1.05 reflects a sharp improvement from 51 cents reported in the last-year quarter. Further, the company expects comps growth of high-single to low-double digits. Gross margin is anticipated to expand nearly 380-400 basis points. Also, it noted that it doesn’t foresee any material difference between GAAP and non-GAPP figures.

Moreover, Hibbett has been benefiting from robust performance on the e-commerce front and expansion of its loyalty program. It is leveraging its omnichannel capabilities, such as home delivery, buy online and pick-up in store, reserve online and pick-up in store, buy online ship to store facility, same-day delivery and mobile app services to fulfill online orders. Notably, online sales advanced 50.7% year over year in the fiscal third quarter, driven by increased adoption of the online mode of shopping. Moreover, comps for the online business soared 118.2%. Apart from these, it is progressing well with its loyalty program in order to enhance its omnichannel initiatives.



Other retailers witnessing robust digital sales growth for the past few months include DICK’S Sporting Goods (DKS - Free Report) , The Michaels Companies and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) . DICK’S Sporting’s e-commerce soared 95% year over year, accounting for nearly 21% of net sales in the fiscal third quarter. Meanwhile, Michaels registered e-commerce growth of more than 128% year over year in third-quarter fiscal 2020. Also, American Eagle witnessed strong consolidated digital sales growth of 29% year over year with digital channel customer acquisitions growth of 37% in third-quarter fiscal 2020.

Coming back to Hibbett, we believe that a solid top line, driven by strength in core categories, and a robust e-commerce business will help this Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stock keep its stellar show on. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Moreover, a VGM Score of A and a long-term earnings growth rate of 17% reflect its inherent strength. Topping it, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2021 earnings is pegged at $5.79 per share, indicating a rise of 33.4% in the past 60 days.

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