Piper Jaffray Downgrades Hibbett Sports (HIBB) to Neutral

Piper Jaffray downgraded Hibbett Sports (NASDAQ: HIBB) from Overweight to Neutral with a price target of $43.00 (from $53.00) in assumed coverage.

New analyst Peter Keith said, "At its core, HIBB is a compelling retail growth story with a unique market niche, solid unit growth prospects with a compelling store economic model, somewhat defensible barriers, and healthy free cash flow. However, the company's focus on low/middle income consumers appears to be causing a lack of comp store sales growth, and under-investment in IT capabilities has put the company in a less advantageous position vis-a-vis competitors. Fortunately, HIBB is in the process of making significant IT and infrastructure investments, but we do not expect these investments to begin driving notable operating benefits until 2016 (FY17). All in, we are assuming coverage at Neutral, but can foresee becoming more positive on HIBB shares by mid-2015 (FY16) in anticipation of operating benefits from the heavy investment activity."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Hibbett Sports click here. For more ratings news on Hibbett Sports click here.

Shares of Hibbett Sports closed at $43.98 yesterday.

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