BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 147,890 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 739.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 167,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,890 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $8,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ASO. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Trust Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.8% during the second quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 15,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $800,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 7,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.1% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 3,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ASO. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $81.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Insider Transactions at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 625 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total value of $33,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,250.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,172. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 625 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

ASO stock opened at $59.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.83 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.88.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.73%.

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.