5 Best Sporting Goods Stocks to Buy

4. Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 20    

Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) is an Alabama-based retailer of sports goods. It was founded in 1945 and is placed fourth on our list of 10 best sporting goods stocks to buy. The firm operates more than 1,000 retail stores in more than 30 US states. It has a market cap of $1.3 billion and posted more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue in 2020. Some of the products it markets include athletic footwear, athletic and fashion apparel, team sports equipment, and related accessories. 

On March 5, Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) posted quarterly results detailing that comparable sales had increased to 22% in the fourth quarter of 2020. Most of these were attributed to the explosion in e-commerce sales that were 45% above previous levels during the pandemic. 

At the end of the fourth quarter of 2020, 20 hedge funds in the database of Insider Monkey held stakes worth $150 million in the firm, down from 21 in the preceding quarter worth $181 million.

Roubaix Capital, in its Q4 2020 investor letter, said that Hibbett Sports, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIBB) was one of the top contributors for their short portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2020. Here is what Roubaix Capital has to say about Hibbett Sports, Inc. in its letter:

“The second best short in the quarter was Hibbett Sports (HIBB), a sporting goods retailer. Many businesses were able to benefit from the spending shifts caused by the pandemic. For example, online retailers, companies that sell into the home improvement markets and grocery stores all saw varying degrees of improvement. We did not see HIBB as a clear beneficiary as they have historically underinvested in their online business. However, they managed to post very strong results during their third quarter from leisure spending trends and the stock reacted favorably. We shorted the strength of this rally and continue hold our position as we do not see HIBB as a longer-term winner in its markets.”