W.morgan retailer Hibbett Financial Survey

In the early hours of May 16 Beijing time, sports products retailer Hibbett Sports's shares rallied against the city. The company will issue its first-quarter performance report next week.　　A Wall Street analyst said this morning that Hibbett's store traffic and sales have improved recently.　　As of Friday 3:50 (Beijing time Saturday 3:50 A.M.), Hibbett shares on the New York Stock Exchange rose 62 cents to $18.63, or nearly 3.4%. Jeff Mintz, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, announced a rise in expectations for Hibbett's first-quarter results on the grounds that he expected higher sales and profit margins for Hibbett. He noted that Hibbett's performance was driven by footwear sales, particularly the introduction of Under Armour running shoes.　　According to the scheduled plan, Hibbett will release its earnings on May 22. Mintz also said Hibbett is benefiting from Wal-Mart's growth in passenger traffic. Most of the storefronts at Hibbett, headquartered in Alabama State Birmingham, are located in Wal-Mart's shopping malls.　　As the economy continues to slump, shoppers clutching tight wallets are pouring into cheap shops, and Wal-Mart's passenger traffic has grown markedly.　　However, Mintz also lowered the growth forecast for Hibbett's second-quarter results on the grounds that the results of last year's performance had risen sharply under the government's tax rebate cheque. Yesterday D.a Davidson & Co. Also announced a rise in expectations for Hibbett's first-quarter profits. Mr Reed Anderson, the analyst, said the stock rating for Hibbett was still "buy," and that the company's sales were being driven by marketing and systemic incentives, and Hibbett was competitive in its own market. Anderson also said that over the past period of time Hibbett has been a good control of costs.