Hibbett (NASDAQ:HIBB) Sees Large Volume Increase on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Hibbett, Inc. (NASDAQ:HIBB) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $70.00 to $87.50. B. Riley currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Approximately 365,591 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 293,088 shares.The stock last traded at $86.05 and had previously closed at $86.15.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on HIBB. Williams Trading restated a “hold” rating and set a $73.00 price objective on shares of Hibbett in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Hibbett from $74.00 to $87.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Monness Crespi & Hardt restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Hibbett in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of Hibbett in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hibbett currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $72.29.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hibbett by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 785,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,558,000 after purchasing an additional 10,226 shares in the last quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. increased its holdings in Hibbett by 7.5% during the third quarter. Bronte Capital Management Pty Ltd. now owns 607,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,879,000 after buying an additional 42,381 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Hibbett by 3.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 290,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,816,000 after buying an additional 8,456 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hibbett by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 283,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,433,000 after purchasing an additional 22,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hibbett by 99.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 101,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,801,000 after purchasing an additional 50,313 shares in the last quarter. 94.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hibbett Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $74.40 and its 200 day moving average is $65.63. The company has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.52, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.75.

Hibbett (NASDAQ:HIBB) last announced its earnings results on Friday, March 15th. The company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.01. Hibbett had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 25.72%. The business had revenue of $466.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.42 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 earnings per share. Hibbett’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hibbett, Inc. will post 8.21 EPS for the current year.

Hibbett Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. Hibbett’s payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Hibbett Company Profile

Hibbett, Inc together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retail of athletic-inspired fashion products in the United States. Its stores offer a range of merchandise, including athletic footwear, athletic and fashion apparel, team sports equipment, and related accessories. The company operates Hibbett stores, City Gear stores, and Sports Additions athletic shoe stores.