BofA/Merrill analyst Rafe Jadrosich upgraded Hibbett Sports two notches to Buy from Underperform and raised its price target to $30 form $14 saying he expects growth to return in FY19 following three years of declines. Jadrosich believes same-store-sales are poised to inflect and gross margins will stabilize as the investment cycle slows. The analyst expects ecommerce and better allocations from Nike and Adidas to aid the comp inflection and believes branded apparel will continue to improve as Hibbett shifts assortment to more fashion focused items.

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Hibbett (HIBB) announced a definitive agreement in which JD Sports Fashion will acquire all outstanding shares of Hibbett for $87.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate enterprise value of approximately $1.1B. The board of directors of Hibbett has unanimously approved the definitive merger agreement and the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2024, subject to receipt of Hibbett stockholder approval, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and the satisfaction of other customary conditions to closing. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Hibbett has agreed to suspend the payment of dividends on its common stock, as well as the purchase of shares under its existing stock repurchase program, through the closing of the transaction. Following the closing of the transaction, Hibbett will join the JD Sports family of athletic footwear and fashion retail brands and will cease to be a publicly traded company. Following the closing of the transaction, Mike Longo will continue to serve as president and CEO and Jared Briskin will take on the role of COO of Hibbett. Hibbett will maintain its corporate headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.