Hibbett Shares Fall on Weak 4Q Outlook

Hibbett said it expects a profit of 36 cents to 44 cents per share for the quarter ending Feb. 2, suggesting it may fall short of the 43 cents per share estimated by analysts reporting to Thomson Financial.

The Birmingham, Ala., retailer said its same store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, will grow in the low- to mid-single digits in the current quarter. Same-store sales is considered a key measure of retailer health because it weighs results at older locations rather than recently opened ones.

Hibbett's same-store sales grew slightly in the first and second quarter of fiscal 2008, and fell 6.6 percent in the third quarter.

CIBC World Markets analyst Vivian Ma, who downgraded shares to "Sector Performer" from "Sector Outperformer," said that in addition to its disappointing older-store sales, Hibbett's newer stores are becoming less productive.

Ma removed her price target of $27 per share, and trimmed her profit estimates for the fourth quarter and full year. She lowered her fourth quarter earnings per share estimate to 40 cents from 45 cents and her full year fiscal 2007 estimate to $1.11 from $1.17.

The analyst noted that Hibbett's same-store results have been slowing for the last few years, and the company is having trouble attracting customers because of broader economic issues and a lack of hot new products.

Shares fell $1.47, or 6.9 percent, to $19.71 in midday trading, and fell as far as $18.69. That was the stock's lowest price since May 2005.