Two stocks capitalizing on outdoor recreation trends

Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO)

Vista Outdoor, Inc., is a leading provider of innovative outdoor products that enable customers to achieve rugged independence in the activity of their choice. Vista Outdoor operates in two primary business segments: Shooting Sports and Outdoor Products. Their portfolio includes well-respected brands designed to bring the world outside. The company's highly recognized brands include Federal Premium, CamelBak, Bushnell, Camp Chef, Primos, Blackhawk, Bell, Giro, Bushnell Golf, Primos, Eagle, RCBS, CCI, Speer and many others.

"We had an incredible start to our fiscal year, and we see continued strength going forward in both our Outdoor Products and Shooting Sports segments, with increasing participation rates across all of our categories,” said Vista Outdoor Chief Executive Officer, Chris Metz, in a company press release. “The hard work we have done over the past two years in building a nimble and profitable platform has enabled our brands to capitalize on these outdoor recreation trends. We are turning incremental sales growth into margin acceleration, higher quality earnings and strong cash flow, allowing us to further de-leverage our balance sheet.

"Going forward, we will continue to reinvest our improved cash flow in several areas, including enhancing the new product innovation pipeline within our market leading brands; pursuing acquisitions that deliver top line growth and earnings accretion within one year of purchase; and further expanding our e-commerce channels to make it even easier for consumers to buy our products wherever and however they shop."

VSTO stock shares are up 411.34% over the last 52-weeks. This year alone shares are up 218.05%, closing Friday at $22.55 per share, up 1.49% for the day. VSTO has a 52-week low of $4.29 and a high of $22.60.

Escalade Inc. (NASDAQ: ESCA)

Headquartered in Evansville, Ind., Escalade Sports  manufactures, imports, and distributes widely recognized sporting goods brands in basketball goals, archery, indoor and outdoor game recreation and fitness products through major sporting goods retailers, specialty dealers, key on-line retailers, traditional department stores and mass merchants. Escalade is a leader in table tennis tables, residential in-ground basketball goals and in archery bows.

"Following a strong first quarter performance, the company accelerated growth in the second quarter, delivering record sales and earnings,” said Scott Sincerbeaux, president and CEO of Escalade, Inc. “Despite continued challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, our revenue grew 50.1%. Early in the quarter, our production facilities in Gainesville, Fla. and Rosarito, Mexico, experienced closures associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 and reopened with heightened health and safety protocols and we expect this to continue for the foreseeable future. We have proactively worked to ramp up domestic and international production to meet existing and anticipated future demand, while securing critical inventory to support ongoing trends in the marketplace. Our ability to react and accelerate manufacturing efforts is a meaningful reflection on the relationships we have with our partners across the globe. These essential steps will serve to support our key retailers and business partners as the country continues to reopen. The changing consumer landscape and return to home recreation and entertainment places us in a position to meet demand and our strong pipeline of product and industry leading innovation positions us for sustained growth now and into the future. We are making appropriate investments in talent and organizational structure as well as facility improvements and expanded supply chain capabilities. These investments will enable us to navigate the continued uncertainty in the marketplace, meet customer and consumer demand and pave the way for continued organic growth. My first three months as the new Chief Executive Officer of Escalade, Inc. have been educational and inspiring.  We are fortunate to have a talented team working together to accelerate growth at a critical time in our history.”

ESCA stock shares are up 83.80% over the last 52-weeks. This year alone shares are up 94.02%, closing Friday at $18.49 per share, down 1.07% for the day. ESCA has a 52-week low of $4.69 and a high of $19.96.

Escalade paid a $0.125 dividend in September, December, March and June. A $0.14 dividend is planned for September.

Disclaimer: This post is provided for information purposes only and should not be used as the basis for any investment decision. I am neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice. Keith Stein has no position in any stocks mentioned in this post. DCNewsroom has no position in any of the stocks mentioned in this post.