Back to top

Image: Bigstock

DICK'S Sporting Resumes Dividend Payments as Stores Reopen

Read MoreHide Full Article

With government easing restrictions and stores reopening gradually, DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS - Free Report) recently announced to resume dividend payment. Notably, it has approved a quarterly dividend of 31.25 cents per share, which is payable on Jun 30 to shareholders as of record on Jun 22.

This move comes following the reopening of almost 80% of its stores since the end of May, after the temporary closure of stores that began on Mar 18 to curb the spread of the virus. Going ahead, the company plans to reopen the remaining stores by Jun 30.  It has witnessed encouraging top-line results for stores that have already reopened. With most of the stores currently operating, all furloughed employees have got back to work, and salaries have been restored to all barring few executives.

During first-quarter fiscal 2020, the Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company had temporarily furloughed staff, implemented pay cuts, and suspended dividends and share repurchases in a bid to strengthen financial position amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Notably, DICK’S Sporting is a widow-and-orphan stock, with a long history of regular reliable dividends. The company has a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 18.7%, reflecting dividend increases for five consecutive years. It currently has a dividend yield of 3.2% and dividend payout ratio is 66.2%.

Cumulatively, resumption of dividend payments and store reopenings have boosted investor sentiments. Shares of this sporting goods retailer have soared 86% in the past three months, compared with the industry’s growth of 57.5%.



Earlier, the company raised quarterly cash dividend by 13.6% to 31.25 cents per share that was payable on Mar 27, 2019. Further, it had $1,031 million in its existing share repurchase program as of May 2. Moving on, it boasted a cash balance of $1,484 million, and $1.4 billion in outstanding borrowings under its $1.6-billion revolving credit facility as of May 2. Moreover, it added $255 million to its revolving credit facility, bringing the total to roughly $1.9 billion. This is likely to help the company stay afloat amid the pandemic.

Apart from these, e-commerce sales skyrocketed 110% year over year in first-quarter fiscal 2020, which was nearly 39% of net sales. Further, the company noted that e-commerce spiked 210% post the store closures till the first-quarter end. Encouragingly, the company anticipates enhancing omni-channel experience through faster and more reliable deliveries, and improved functionality of its website in fiscal 2020.

All said, we believe the resuming of dividend payouts is likely to enhance shareholder returns. This along with strong online and offline sales is likely to draw investor’s attention to this stock.

3 Stocks to Consider

Tractor Supply Company (TSCO - Free Report) has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 12% and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Office Depot (ODP - Free Report) , also a Zacks Rank #2 stock, has an impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 6.8%.

Lowes Companies (LOW - Free Report) , which presently carries a Zacks Rank #2, has an expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15.2%.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021.

Click here for the 6 trades >>

Published in