Royce & Associates LP Raises Stock Holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 62.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 951,256 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 365,929 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $55,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ASO. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the second quarter worth $174,054,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 19.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,969,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,147,000 after buying an additional 481,640 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.2% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,721,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,683,000 after buying an additional 69,700 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.9% in the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,613,209 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,903,000 after buying an additional 29,912 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,331,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,915,000 after acquiring an additional 90,651 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ASO stock opened at $49.29 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $45.47 and a 12 month high of $75.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.61, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.42.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 6.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,172. This represents a 11.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upped their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

About Academy Sports and Outdoors

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.