The Finish Line, Inc. (FINL) has been cashing in on the hot shoe market as it has surprised on estimates the last 4 quarters by an average of 49.7%. The stock isn’t very expensive, trading at just 10.5x forward estimates when the industry trades at 14x.
The Finish Line is a specialty retailer of sport footwear, apparel and accessories for men, women and children. It carries brands like Nike, Puma, Adidas and North Face.
Its 668 stores are located in shopping malls in 47 states. The company also has an online ecommerce site at finishline.com.
Zacks Consensus Estimates for the Full Year Move Higher
The Finish Line isn’t expected to report fiscal 2011 second quarter earnings until Sep 23.
Ahead of the number, estimates have been holding steady since the first quarter report.
The fiscal 2011 Zacks Consensus Estimate is up 7 cents to $1.27 in the last 2 months. This is earnings growth of about 49% compared to fiscal 2010.
Earnings growth is expected to continue into fiscal 2012, albeit at a slower pace of just 8%.
Beat by 67% in the Fiscal First Quarter
On June 24, The Finish Line reported fiscal first quarter 2011 results and surprised on the Zacks Consensus by 10 cents. Earnings per share were 25 cents compared to the consensus of just 15 cents. The company made only 3 cents in the same quarter a year ago.
Sales rose 9% to $282.4 million with same store sales rising 10.9% compared to a decline of 3.9% in the fiscal first quarter the year before.
Inventories were kept under control, with a decline of 18.1% to $197.8 million from $241.5 million a year ago.
The company found customer traffic continued to be inconsistent in the quarter. It gave an update on June same store sales, however, which rose 7% compared to a 12.5% decline in the year ago period of May 30 to June 22.
Value Fundamentals
In addition to an attractive P/E, The Finish Line also has a value price-to-book ratio of 1.6.
It has a solid 1-year return on equity of 13.4%, which is above the industry at 12.7%.
The company also rewards shareholders with a dividend currently yielding 1.2% whereas the industry pays, on average, no dividend.
The Finish Line is a Zacks #1 Rank (strong buy) stock.
FINISH LINE-CLA (FINL): Free Stock Analysis Report
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