Vista Outdoor, Inc. (NYSE:VSTO) designs, manufactures and markets consumer products for the shooting and outdoor sports markets. The company was a division within Alliance TechSystems (ATK), an aerospace and defense contractor, and became its own stand-alone entity when it was spun out when Alliance merged with Orbital Sciences. Vista had become the leading consolidator of the fragmented outdoor sports industry diversifying away from its core shooting sports products via accretive acquisitions which leveraged the company’s customer base and distribution network. Unfortunately, sporting goods store closures/bankruptcies (Sports Authority) and hoarding of ammunition into the Presidential election (as most had expected a Democratic win), led to excess inventory in the channel. In addition, an expected pickup in shooting accessory sales (holsters, scopes, etc.), Vista’s most profitable products, has not materialized despite the strength in gun sales over the past two years. A perfect storm has hit this new company, but we believe expectations are extremely low and all the bad news is in the stock. The company has not lost market share, the excess inventory shall clear as the outdoor and shooting sports categories continue to grow, and management will thus reset guidance to rebuild credibility.
From the Keeley Small Cap Value Fund first quarter 2017 commentary.
