DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) Short Interest Up 7.3% in December

DICK’S Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE:DKS) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,170,000 shares, a growth of 7.3% from the December 15th total of 4,820,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.8 days. Approximately 9.3% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $1,697,956.15. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 50,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,808,355.35. The trade was a 12.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Edward W. Stack sold 160,600 shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 8,362,128 shares in the company, valued at $1,917,017,844. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 32.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of DICK’S Sporting Goods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DKS. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 2,900.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 150 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods by 454.8% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 172 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in DICK’S Sporting Goods by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 200 shares of the sporting goods retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on DKS shares. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $215.00 price target (down previously from $250.00) on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $270.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective on shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of DICK’S Sporting Goods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on DICK’S Sporting Goods from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, DICK’S Sporting Goods has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.10.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:DKS traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $228.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,054,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,565. 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 52 week low of $141.02 and a 52 week high of $239.30. The company has a market capitalization of $18.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $217.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.64.

DICK’S Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The sporting goods retailer reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. DICK’S Sporting Goods had a return on equity of 42.00% and a net margin of 8.65%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that DICK’S Sporting Goods will post 13.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DICK’S Sporting Goods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. DICK’S Sporting Goods’s dividend payout ratio is 31.45%.

About DICK’S Sporting Goods

DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an omni-channel sporting goods retailer primarily in the United States. The company provides hardlines, includes sporting goods equipment, fitness equipment, golf equipment, and fishing gear products; apparel; and footwear and accessories.