Williams Trading sees Dick’s Sporting taking share, upgrades to Buy

As previously reported, Williams Trading analyst Sam Poser upgraded Dick’s Sporting (DKS) to Buy from Hold with a price target of $235, up from $154. It is “clear to us, and should have been prior to today,” that the new House of Sport Stores and the “Next Gen” stores are setting the foundation for healthy long term growth, the analyst tells investors. Dick’s has become the largest sports retailer across footwear, apparel, and equipment combined and is using its size, strong balance sheet, and new store models as leverage with its vendors. It appears as if Dick’s is taking share from retailers like Foot Locker (FL), Macy’s (M), Nordstrom (JWN) and others due to its improved product assortments from Nike (NKE) and other brands such as Birkenstock (BIRK), On (ONON), Crocs (CROX), J Lindeberg and others, the analyst added.