Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Earns “Outperform” Rating from Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $65.00 price target on the stock.

ASO has been the subject of several other research reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an outperform rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $80.00 to $68.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $62.86.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

ASO opened at $59.01 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $53.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.68. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $42.83 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.34.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.73%.

Insider Activity at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total transaction of $33,906.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $548,250.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 52.3% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,014.0% in the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 213,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,094,000 after acquiring an additional 194,373 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,010,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,725,000 after buying an additional 172,783 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,089,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,878,000 after acquiring an additional 559,414 shares during the last quarter.

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.