Hibbett Sports Crushes Earnings Estimates

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Hibbett Sports (NAS: HIBB) reported earnings on March 9. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended Jan. 28 (Q4), Hibbett Sports met expectations on revenues and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved and GAAP earnings per share increased significantly.

Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Hibbett Sports chalked up revenue of $190.7 million. The 15 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected sales of $192.2 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 10% higher than the prior-year quarter's $173.2 million.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $0.59. The 16 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $0.56 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.59 for Q4 were 34% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.44 per share.

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Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 35.7%, 80 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 13.1%, 200 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.3%, 110 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $222.5 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.89.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $808.3 million. The average EPS estimate is $2.48.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a two-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 101 members out of 126 rating the stock outperform, and 25 members rating it underperform. Among 48 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 41 give Hibbett Sports a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Hibbett Sports is outperform, with an average price target of $49.21.

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At the time thisarticle was published Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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