Hennessy Advisors Inc. Purchases 22,600 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 44.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,900 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,600 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.10% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $4,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the first quarter worth approximately $68,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.1% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Alamar Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Alamar Capital Management LLC now owns 24,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,010,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,725,000 after acquiring an additional 172,783 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $80.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.93.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded up $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $53.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,204,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,100. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.37. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.83 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.10.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.11). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 27.18%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 20th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.73%.

Insider Transactions at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $72,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Profile

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as a sporting goods and outdoor recreational retailer in the United States. The company outdoor division comprises camping products, such as coolers and drinkware, and camping accessories and equipment,; fishing products, including marine equipment and fishing rods, reels, and baits and equipment; and hunting products, which includes firearms, ammunition, archery and archery equipment, camouflage apparel, waders, shooting accessories, gun safes, optics, airguns, and hunting equipment.