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

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of 1.2125 per share by the sporting goods retailer on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $4.85 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 28th. 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 by an average of 40.1% annually over the last three years. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a payout ratio of 27.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. 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

NYSE DKS traded down $4.34 on Wednesday, hitting $194.63. 2,276,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,202,368. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $230.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $218.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 0.56. DICK’S Sporting Goods has a fifty-two week low of $182.25 and a fifty-two week high of $254.60.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The sporting goods retailer reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $3.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that DICK’S Sporting Goods will post 13.89 EPS for the current year.

DICK’S Sporting Goods declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, March 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the sporting goods retailer to purchase up to 18.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at DICK’S Sporting Goods

In other news, EVP Julie Lodge-Jarrett sold 5,000 shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.99, for a total transaction of $1,139,950.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,762,746.96. The trade was a 23.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence J. Schorr sold 7,333 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.55, for a total value 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 represents a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 172,933 shares of company stock valued at $39,655,456 over the last 90 days. 32.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DKS shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $240.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research note on Wednesday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a report on Wednesday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $246.91.

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.