Cabela's Success Story a Lesson in Investing

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Cabela's (CAB) continued its move higher yesterday with a 12.5% jump, putting shares in uncharted territory and at a new all-time high. The reason for the jump, on an otherwise rather nondescript trading day, was an announcement by the company that it expects same store sales to be sharply higher (high teens) and earnings to be 10 cents to 15 cents above the current 48 cents a share consensus estimate for the first quarter.

This was the icing on the cake for a company that was once badly misunderstood by the markets. It also serves as a great lesson for investors; namely that the herd is often wrong, and that you've got to do your own homework. One well-known pundit, who shall remain nameless and has a very large following, once called Cabela's a "walking heart attack".

The company was simply not well-liked, for several reasons. First, there was Cabela's foray into banking and credit through its World's Foremost Bank, at a time when other retailers were ditching such businesses.

This was seen as a potential nightmare during the recession when credit charge-offs soared. But what the markets did not understand was that Cabela's Club Visa Card holders, not only have high credit scores, they also pay their bills. Company charge-offs during that bleak period were well below many other card issuers. There are now more than 1.5 million Cabela's club cardholders, with an average FICO score of 793.

CAB data by YCharts

Second, some had issues with the company's stores, which are massive in size, and were said to have a "museum-like" feel, with a lot of wasted space. Furthermore, the driving distances to even get to one of the company's 30 or so stores (at the time) could be rather long, depending where you live. But what was missed here is the fact that Cabela's is a destination; I've had friends who will spend all day in a store. You can even dine on elk or buffalo burgers while you are there; it's much more than just a hunting and fishing retailer, and it's easy to get lost in a store for hours.

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