Dick’s Sporting price target raised to $190 from $165 at BofA

BofA analyst Robert Ohmes raised the firm’s price target on Dick’s Sporting to $190 from $165 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. The firm is modeling Q4 EPS of $3.27 and same-store sales of -1.0%. Bloomberg Second Measure credit and debit card data implies a deceleration in Q4 same-store sales, in-line with BofA’s expectations, as weaker transactions were partly offset by a sequential improvement in ticket. The firm sees Q4 gross margin in-line with its 34.0%, which is up about 160bps vs. last year given its expectations for some increase in merchandise margins against a 640bps decline last year as Dick’s laps easy comps from elevated clearance activity on delayed apparel receipts and still moderating freight costs. While BofA expects Q4 was more competitive than Q3, it believes the company was not overly promotional and well positioned with premium brand allocations especially in $100-plus footwear.