By Senad Karaahmetovic
Shares of Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) are trading nearly 5% higher after the sporting goods retailer reported better-than-expected Q4 results and gave an upbeat forecast.
DKS posted EPS of $2.93 on revenue of $3.6 billion, beating the average analyst consensus for earnings of $2.89 on revenue of $3.44B. Comparable sales increased 5.3% year-over-year, much better than the expected 2.5% increase.
The company also said its inventories rose 23% while gross margin came in at 32.4%, missing the consensus by 120 basis points.
"Following two consecutive record years, we are very pleased with our 2022 performance, which was the largest sales year in our company's history. These results and our 2023 outlook demonstrate the strength of our business as we continue to execute our multi-year transformation through focused strategies and strong execution,” said Lauren Hobart, president and chief executive officer.
For full-year 2024, the company sees adjusted EPS at $13.35 (the midpoint), easily ahead of the $12.03 forecast. Comparable sales are expected to increase 0-2% while analysts were expecting an 0.5% increase.
The company also increased annualized dividend to $4.00 per share, representing an increase of 105% compared to $1.95 per share in 2022. The new dividend works out to a yield of 3%.