Are These Sports Retailers (HIBB, DKS, FL) Set To Beat Earnings?

The changing retail landscape has been tough on sports retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) ,Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ:HIBB) , and Foot Locker (NYSE:FL) . However, these sporting goods firms certainly could bounce back with strong fourth quarter results.

Dick’s grabbed national attention on Wednesday after it announced that it will no longer sell assault-style rifles (also read: Gunmaker Stocks Dip After Dick's Discontinues Sale of Assault Rifles).

But things are heating up elsewhere. Earlier this week, Hibbett released upbeat preliminary Q4 estimates, while many analysts have taken a bullish tone regarding Foot Locker.

Along with the recent positive sentiment, many investors have likely taken a look at some fundamentals and estimates for these sports retailers, and these stocks might look enticing right now. But one of the best and most proven ways to gauge if a stock is set to perform well post earnings is to understand if it is likely to top EPS estimates.

Luckily, Zacks Premium customers can utilize the Earnings ESP Screener in order to search for stocks that are expected to beat. Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) looks to find earnings surprises by focusing on the most recent analyst estimates.

This is done because, generally speaking, when an analyst posts an estimate right before an earnings release, it means that they have fresh information which could potentially be more accurate than what analysts thought about a company two or three months ago.

A positive Earnings ESP paired with a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better ranking helps us feel confident about the potential for an earnings beat. In fact, our 10-year backtest has revealed that this methodology has accurately produced a positive surprise 70% of the time.

With all of this said, we are giving our readers a free look at these three sports retail stocks that seem poised to top earnings estimates in March.

1. Hibbett Sports, Inc. (HIBB)

This Alabama-based sports retailer is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and sports an overall “A” VGM score. When paired with HIBB’s Earnings ESP of 16.78%, which signals that earnings estimates have been higher directly ahead of the firm’s Q4 results, investors can assume the sports retailer has a solid chance of topping Q4 earnings estimates.

Hibbett now expects its quarterly sales will jump by 8%, based on its recently released preliminary Q4 results. Investors should also be happy to note that Hibbett expects to post earnings in the range of $0.47 per share to $0.51 per share, which comes in far above our most-recent consensus estimate that called for earnings of $0.30 per share.

Hibbett is set to report its fourth-quarter and full fiscal year results before the opening bell on Friday, March 16.

2. Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS)

Before today’s solid gains, shares of Dick’s had climbed nearly 6% in the last 12 weeks on positive investor sentiment. Dick’s is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and rocks a “B” grade for Value in our style scores system. Dick’s Q4 sales are projected to surge by nearly 10% year-over-year to reach $2.73 billion.

On top of strong top-line expectations, DKS’ Earnings ESP of 6.79% signals that analyst sentiment regarding the sports retail power jumped recently. Investors should also note that Dick’s topped third-quarter earnings estimates by more than 15%.

Dick’s is set to report its Q4 earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, March 13.

3. Foot Locker, Inc. (FL)

This sports footwear retailer is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and earns an overall “A” VGM score. Foot Locker also currently sports an Earnings ESP of 4.27%. Foot Locker’s fourth-quarter sales are expected to hit $2.22 billion, which would mark 5.17% growth.

Last quarter, Foot Locker topped our consensus earnings estimate figure by 8.75%. Foot Locker is set to report its Q4 and fiscal full-year earnings before the opening bell this Friday, March 2.

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