DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) Announces Dividend Increase – $1.21 Per Share

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 11th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be given a dividend of 1.2125 per share by the sporting goods retailer on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $4.85 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a 10.2% increase from DICK’S Sporting Goods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10.

DICK’S Sporting Goods has raised its dividend payment by an average of 40.1% annually over the last three years. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a dividend payout ratio of 27.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect DICK’S Sporting Goods to earn $14.79 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $4.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.7%.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Stock Performance

DICK’S Sporting Goods stock traded down $3.12 on Wednesday, hitting $195.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 386,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,160,790. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a one year low of $182.25 and a one year high of $254.60. The firm has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $230.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.94.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The sporting goods retailer reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.47 by $0.15. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 42.00%. The business had revenue of $3.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that DICK’S Sporting Goods will post 13.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at DICK’S Sporting Goods

In other DICK’S Sporting Goods news, Chairman Edward W. Stack sold 160,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.25, for a total value of $36,817,550.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 8,362,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,917,017,844. This trade represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence J. Schorr sold 7,333 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.55, for a total transaction of $1,697,956.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,808,355.35. This trade represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 172,933 shares of company stock worth $39,655,456. 32.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

DICK’S Sporting Goods announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the sporting goods retailer to purchase up to 18.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on DKS. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $240.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.00.

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc engages in the retailing of an extensive assortment of authentic sports equipment, apparel, footwear, and accessories. It also offers its products both online and through mobile applications. The company was founded by Richard T. Stack in 1948 and is headquartered in Coraopolis, PA.