Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $73.88.

Several research analysts recently commented on ASO shares. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 21st.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

ASO stock opened at $53.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $61.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.26. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a one year low of $42.83 and a one year high of $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.40.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.28 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 28.99% and a net margin of 8.43%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $72,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,200. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASO. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 13.7% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 77.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 21,945 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 9,598 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.1% in the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 30,023 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,419,000 after buying an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 17.4% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 9,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 1,479 shares during the period. Finally, EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 11.8% during the third quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 21,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 2,274 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Company 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.