5 Stocks To Watch During Hunting Season

Hunting season is open, or soon will be in many locations, for everything from deer to water fowl.

It is a time-honored pastime, passed down from generation to generation, yet still evolving. States such as Colorado, Michigan, Montana and others have recently pass regulations concerning the use of aerial drones in hunting.

Stocks of interest to hunters and sportsmen include those of retailers Cabelas Inc CAB and Dicks Sporting Goods Inc DKS, firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson Holding Corp SWHC and ammunition supplier Alliant Techsystems Inc. ATK, as well as all-terrain vehicle maker Polaris Industries Inc. PII.

Here is a quick look at how these five stocks have fared recently and what analysts expect from them.

See also: 5 Companies That Boost Hiring For The Holidays

Cabela's

In the summer, this sporting goods superstore operator announced plans to expand in Canada, and it has been a speculative takeover target. Its market capitalization is more than $4 billion. The long-term EPS growth forecast is more than 16 percent, and its operating margin is greater than the industry average.

All but three of the 16 analysts surveyed by Thomson/First Call recommend buying shares, with nine of them rating the stock at Strong Buy. The share price hit a 52-week low in late July but is up about 8 percent since. The stock has outperformed Dick's Sporting Goods over the past six months but underperformed Wal-Mart.

Dick's Sporting Goods

This specialty retailer is also opening new stores, with the count in the United States now more than 580, and its chief operating officer recently announced his retirement. Dick's has a market cap near $5.5 billion and a dividend yield of about 1.2 percent. The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is less than the industry average.

Half of the 30 analysts surveyed recommend buying shares, and the remainder rate the stock at Hold. Shares hit a 52-week low in early August but are up more than 6 percent since. Over the past six months, the stock has underperformed Cabela's and Wal-Mart, as well as the S&P 500.

Smith & Wesson

Shares have struggled since the settlement of a bribery suit in July and after the company offered soft guidance with its most recent quarterly results. Smith & Wesson sports a market cap near $520 million. The operating margin is greater than the industry average, and the return on equity is more than 69 percent.

All but one of the 10 analysts polled recommend buying shares, and that has been the case for at least two months. Shares fell to a 52-week low at the end of last week; they are down more than 27 percent year to date. The stock has underperformed competitor Sturm Ruger and the S&P 500 over the past six months.

Alliant Techsystems

The company plans to spin off its sporting group from the defense and aerospace business into a public company called Vista Outdoor. The company's market cap currently is more than $4 billion. It has a dividend yield of about 1 percent, and the return on equity is more than 23 percent.

The consensus recommendation is to hold shares. The stock has risen almost 9 percent in the past two weeks but is still down more than 12 percent from the 52-week high. Over the past six months, the stock has outperformed those featured here, except for Polaris.

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Polaris Industries

This maker of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and motorcycles announced restructuring and posted record quarterly results in July. The nearly $10 billion market cap company has a long-term EPS growth forecast of more than 17 percent. Its return on equity is more than 57 percent.

All but one of the 15 surveyed analysts recommend buying shares, with seven of them rating the stock at Strong Buy. Shares surged after the earnings report and ended last week near the 52-week high. The stock has outperformed the likes of Arctic Cat and Harley-Davidson over the past six months.

At the time of this writing, the author had no position in the mentioned equities.

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