If memories of hunting, fishing and camping bring back fond childhood memories, chances are the Bass Pro Shop played a part. Therefore, can you buy Bass Pro Shop stock? 

Bass Pro Shops supplies outdoor gear for fishing, hunting, camping and golfing enthusiasts. With a staggering $8 billion dollars annually in sales, Bass Pro Shops is one of the largest fishes in the sea.

However, will you hit the target buying Bass Pro Shop stock? That’s for you to decide, but here’s everything we know about Bass Pro Shop.

Sales numbers aside, their flagship store in Springfield Missouri, is the state’s number one tourist attraction. Over 4 million people visit the store each year. What’s more, it spans an impressive 750,000 square feet with 17 acres under one roof!

Can You Buy Bass Pro Shop Stock?

• If you want to buy Bass Pro Shop stock, unfortunately you’re out of luck. Bass Pro Shop is not a publicly traded company. You’ll have to look elsewhere for stocks in invest or trade in. While you can’t trade Bass Pro Shop, you could look at Pinterest stock instead.

Humble Beginnings: A Young Boys Dream

Bass Pro Shops was born in 1972 when Johnny Morris, an avid young angler, began selling fishing tackle out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. 

Today, over 200 million people visit Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s annually. With over 200 destination retail and marine center locations across North America, they are a national leader in protecting wildlife habitat. 

Apart from this, Bass Pro Shops also has its fingers in the marine manufacturing pie. A quick stroll through the store shows a wide variety of boats and ATVs under the banner names of TRACKER, SUN TRACKER, NITRO, TAHOE, and REGENCY, MAKO, RANGER, TRITON, and Ascend Kayaks. 

Not to be restricted to the retail arena, they’ve entered the hospitality business. America’s Premier Wilderness Resort and Big Cedar Lodge with world-class golf and outdoor recreation activities are just two examples of Bass Pro Shop’s reach.

You can’t buy Bass Pro Shop stock unfortunately. It sounds like it could be a good investment.

Not Just Another Outdoor Store: Bass Pro Shop Is Ranked the Third Most Reputable Retailer in America

For the second year in a row, over 5 million customers voted Bass Pro Shops as one of the most reputable brands in the world. Yes, the world. Which would most likely have made Bass Pro Shop stock a really good buy. 

Despite being ranked 12th last year, Bass Pro Shops made their move up the list this year to rank number three. More importantly, they outrank other highly respected brands such as Costco, Nike, IKEA, Nordstrom and The Disney Store.

For those of you curious to know who takes the top two spots, it’s Trader Joe’s and The LEGO Store. 

Bass Pro Shop Takes a Bite Out of the Market

If you can’t beat em, buy em! But you can’t buy Bass Pro Shop stock. In a blockbuster $5.5 billion dollar deal, Bass Pro Shops acquired rival Cabela’s in September of 2017.

With the bidding for Cabela’s, Bass Pro beat out competition from private equity bidder Sycamore Partners. The offer of $65.50 a share in cash represented a 19 percent premium to Cabela’s most recent closing price at the time. 

The merger brought together three of the U.S top outdoor sporting brands: Cabela’s, which specializes in hunting; Bass Pro Shops, which specializes in fishing; and White River Marine Group, a Bass Pro Shops company that specializes in boating.

The company also owns Tracker Marine, which manufactures and sells boats for fishers, and Big Cedar Lodge, a resort in the Ozark Mountains. 

Cool to Know Facts

• There are over 30,000 locations across the country.
• According to Forbes, Morris has a net worth of $6.8 billion.
• In 2015, the National Retail Foundation named Johnny Morris as one of “25 People Shaping the Future of Retail.”
• Bass Pro Shop stock is not publically traded.
• Cabela’s is ranked No. 17 on the list of most repeutable brands in the nation. 

Is Bass Pro Publicly Traded?

• Sadly, no, as Bass Pro Shop is a privately held company. But, you can buy shares in their publically traded competitors! Let’s take a look at two of them you might want to sink your hooks into. 

DICKS Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS)

As the largest sporting goods retailer in the U.S, DICKS has a lot going for it right now — like strong demand for sporting goods — supporting its revenue growth. Here are a few reasons why you might want to consider investing in Dick’s Sporting Goods.

Despite the ravages of COVID-19 on businesses, Dick’s seem to have come out shining. After a brief pause, Dick’s is recovering quickly and has reopened 80% of its stores.

Further to this, they’ve seen e-commerce sales rise 110% in the quarter vs. the year-ago period. One would suspect the surge in online sales is attributed to their new curbside contactless pickup service. 

For proof look no further than statements from chairman and CEO Edward Stack. He expressed optimism in Dick’s future, saying it had a strong liquidity position at the end of the quarter, with cash and equivalents of $1.5 billion. 

Sportsman Warehouse (SPWH)

Since 1986, Sportsman’s Warehouse has been providing outdoor enthusiasts with quality merchandise in a friendly, low-key shopping environment. The American outdoor sporting goods retailer which operates in 25 states across the United States, including Alaska.

Shares in Sportsman Warehouse are at their all-time highs despite COVID-19. Plus, the surge in demand resulted in very promising financial results in the first quarter of 2020.

Net sales were $247 million, an increase of 42% year-over-year while firearms and ammunition sales were up 65% and 90%, respectively. Further to this, shares of the outdoor sporting goods specialty retailer soared 15.61% last month.

Overall, they’ve outpaced the Retail-Wholesale sector’s gain of 9.49% and the S&P 500’s gain of 5.03% at that time. Very impressive, to say the least!

Before I forget, valuation is also important. Right now, the SPWH has a Forward P/E ratio of 20.29. Why is this important?

In case you didn’t know, the industry average Forward P/E is 33.98. At the end of the day, we might go out on a limb and conclude that SPWH is trading at a discount comparatively.

Where to Go From Here

Even though you can’t buy Bass Pro Shop Stock, you have some other great options. But, before you jump in hook line and sinker to buy stock in any company, do your research. This goes for any stock trading community you join as well.

With seemingly endless options available, it can be overwhelming. Not to mention the guru’s who have no formal training on how the stock market works.

Like I said above, do your research. Luckily, by becoming a member of Bullish Bears, you have access to the best. Industry experts with years of experience.