Big 5 Sporting Goods (BGFV) PT, Estimates Lowered at Needham & Company; 'Strong Buy' Maintained

Needham & Company analyst Sean McGowan trimmed estimates and his price target on Big 5 Sporting Goods (NASDAQ: BGFV) to $17.00 (from $18.00) following Q4 results, but maintained a Strong Buy rating.

McGowan commented, "BGFV reported 4Q14 results in line with the pre-announcement issued Jan. 12 (with the exception of higher legal costs). December sales were hurt by unfavorable weather until the final weeks; sales in early January were quite strong as weather was more normal. However, exceptionally warm and dry weather returned in February (echoing last year's trend), slowing the growth in same-store sales. March sales are "positioned" for an increase, but may be adversely affected by delays caused by the recently-settled West Coast port slowdown. In addition, new store openings are a bit slower than we anticipated. As a result, we are trimming our estimates and price target modestly, but we continue to expect BGFV to strengthen when weather and firearms comparisons turn less unfavorable."

The firm lowered FY 2015 EPS from $1.20 to $1.10 and FY 2016 EPS from $1.55 to $1.45.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Big 5 Sporting Goods click here. For more ratings news on Big 5 Sporting Goods click here.

Shares of Big 5 Sporting Goods closed at $12.35 yesterday.

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