Hibbett Sports soars after zipping past Street's fiscal 4Q forecasts

Shares of Hibbett Sports Inc (NASDAQ:HIBB) popped in Friday’s pre-market session after the sporting goods supplier zipped past the Street’s forecasts for its fiscal fourth quarter and provided rosy guidance projections for next year.

In other news, the retailer’s CEO Jeff Rosenthal is set to retire as soon as his successor is found.

Investors applauded the results, sending Hibbett shares up 25% to $22.59 before the opening bell.

In the three months until February 2, the Birmingham, Alabama retailer posted net income of $6.6 million, or $0.36 per share, which fell from $9.7 million, or $0.51 per share in the year-ago period. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.57 per share, whizzing past the consensus of $0.39.

Its revenue, meanwhile, jumped to $306 million, up from $266.7 million in the year-ago quarter and ahead of the $282.85 million called for by analysts. 

READ: Hibbett Sports misses in 2Q report, as shares tumble almost 20%

Same-store sales also impressed investors as they rose 3.8% in the quarter, overcoming analysts’ projections that they would be flat.

Looking ahead, Hibbett intends to push ahead in e-commerce, which boosted its latest quarter, and shut 95 Hibbett stores in fiscal 2020 while opening 10 to 15 new Hibbett and CityGear stores. The shutting of stores will trigger a store closure charge of $0.15 to $0.20 in fiscal 2020.

“”Our omni-channel initiative continues to deliver strong results, with online sales increasing 60% to 10.6% of total sales in the quarter,” said Rosenthal, the outgoing CEO in a statement. “Our omni-channel initiative continues to deliver strong results, with online sales increasing 60% to 10.6% of total sales in the quarter. We are seeing significant improvement in web traffic and good traction with Buy Online, Pickup in Store (BOPIS) and improvements to our mobile app.“

The retailer is expecting earnings per share in fiscal 2020 of $1.80 to $2.00, which is ahead of analysts’ projections. It is also forecasting same-store sales in the range of -1.0% to 1.0%.

Contact Ellen Kelleher at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors