Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (NASDAQ:OLLI) shares rose more than 2% intra-day today after Truist Securities analysts upgraded the company from Hold to Buy and raised their price target from $80.00 to $86.00.
The analysts believe Ollie’s is moving towards a consistent growth strategy after experiencing significant fluctuations in sales and earnings over the past few years. The company is expected to focus on a steady store expansion, low single-digit comparable store sales growth, and 10%+ EPS growth.
The analysts noted that the company’s focus on extreme value through its closeout model will become increasingly impactful in a slower economic environment. With anticipated consistent growth patterns, solid first-quarter sales trends, and the stock’s underperformance over the past six months (down 6% compared to the S&P’s 17% gain), the risk/reward profile has improved, prompting the upgrade to Buy.