Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc (NYSE:DKS): An Affordable High-Quality Franchise

We came across a long thesis on Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc (NYSE:DKS) on ValueInvestorsClub by jamal. In this article we will summarize the bulls’ thesis on DKS. The company’s shares were trading at $215.03 when this thesis was published, vs. closing price of $229.12 on Jan 3^rd.

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Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc (NYSE:DKS) is a retailer of athletic apparel, footwear, and equipment for sports. The company operates more than 730 stores under its namesake brand, as well as about 140 specialty stores under the Golf Galaxy and Public Lands nameplates. DKS carries private-label merchandise and national leading brands such as Nike, The North Face, and others.

The bull thesis is centered around the idea that the EBITDA/EV yield of 10% places DKS in the cheapest 10% of stocks in the universe, which is a highly attractive price for a good quality franchise with solid growth prospects. The author believes Dicks Sporting Goods, Inc (NYSE:DKS) is well-positioned within the industry due to its unmatched omni-channel experience – the company’s stores are on average twice as large as those of competitors, primarily due to the inclusion of batting cages, mini-golf spaces as well as other miniature fields where customers can try the sports apparel in action. Such a unique customer experience attracts traffic and is unlikely to be disrupted by the direct-to-consumer channel or other distribution approaches. Consequently, the author argues that DKS is set to outperform industry growth in the following years. Positive signs in this regard are constant improvements in the stores and the ongoing introduction of new concepts and ideas to serve the audience – for instance, DKS introduced a GameChanger app to engage its network, as well as created different kinds of stores that cater to different customers, starting with those seeking convenience and assortment and ending with clients looking for affordable warehouse prices.

Furthermore, the author points out that DKS stores are well-staffed, which helps with the quality of service and limits inventory shrinkage/theft, which has been a problem in the industry. With that in mind, the author believes that DKS represents an attractive investment at current prices, but does not provide a precise price target for the stock.

While we acknowledge the potential of DKS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DKS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article was originally published at Insider Monkey.