Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: Dick's Sporting Goods, Kroger and Mercado Libre

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – March 22, 2023 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Dick's Sporting Goods DKS, Kroger KR and Mercado Libre MELI.

Investors Are Swarming These 3 Retail Stocks

Investors can find favorable trends within the market by focusing on sectors witnessing positive earnings estimate revisions.

That's precisely what the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector has enjoyed lately, which has pushed it up to the #2 spot out of all Zacks 16 sectors.

Stocks within the same sector tend to move in a herd-like fashion, further reflecting the importance of focusing on areas analysts have recently become bullish on.

Three stocks from the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector –Dick's Sporting Goods, Kroger and Mercado Libre – have all seen their earnings outlooks improve, helping lift shares.

As we can see in the chart below, all three stocks have widely outperformed the S&P 500 over the last month, indicating buying pressure.

For those interested in tapping into the relative strength these stocks have been displaying, let's take a closer look at each.

Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre is one of the largest e-commerce platforms in Latin America, offering a total of six integrated e-commerce services. The stock presently sports the highly-coveted Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

MELI posted strong results in its latest release, exceeding the Zacks Consensus EPS Estimate by more than 50%. Quarterly revenue totaled $3 billion, ahead of estimates and growing an impressive 56% year-over-year.

There were several big highlights from the quarter; Total Payment Volume totaled $36 billion, up an impressive 80% Y/Y. Further, Gross Merchandise Volume was reported at $9.6 billion, growing 34.7% from the year-ago quarter (both on an FX-neutral basis).

The market cheered on the results, sending shares soaring.

Dick's Sporting Goods

Dick's Sporting Goods is a significant omnichannel sporting goods retailer offering athletic shoes, apparel, accessories, and a broad selection of outdoor and athletic equipment. DKS is currently a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Like MELI, Dick's Sporting Goods posted better-than-expected results in its latest release; DKS posted EPS of $2.93, 2.5% ahead of expectations and reflecting the 11^th consecutive bottom line beat. Further, the sports retailer generated nearly $3.6 billion in revenue, well above expectations and growing 7% year-over-year.

And in a very shareholder-friendly manner, DKS increased its annualized dividend to $4.00 per share, reflecting a massive 105% increase compared to $1.95 per share in 2022. The dividend is payable on March 31^st, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of March 17^th, 2023.

Kroger

Kroger is one of the world's largest food retailers, with store formats including supermarkets, price-impact warehouse stores, and multi-department stores. KR presently ranks as a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The company's shares are cheap on a relative basis, with the current 10.6X forward earnings multiple sitting well beneath the 12.4X five-year median and the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector average.

And similar to DKS, Kroger rewards its shareholders handsomely; the company's annual dividend presently yields 2.2%.

Impressively, the retailer has consistently increasingly rewarded its shareholders, boasting a 15% five-year annualized dividend growth rate.

Bottom Line

As many investors know, 50% of a stock's price movement can be attributed to its group, making it easier to understand the importance of targeting sectors seeing earnings outlooks drift higher.

Currently, the Zacks Retail and Wholesale sector is #2 out of all 16 Zacks Sectors, indicating that analysts have recently become bullish on its outlook.

And all three stocks above from the space – Dick's Sporting Goods, Kroger and Mercado Libre – have enjoyed positive price action over the last month thanks to improved earnings outlooks, outperforming the general market handily.

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The Kroger Co. (KR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc. (DKS) : Free Stock Analysis Report

MercadoLibre, Inc. (MELI) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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