The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 43.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 612,175 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185,295 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.85% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $32,598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ASO. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the first quarter worth $68,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 117.3% during the second quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 1,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 921 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Bank of America lowered shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.86.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of ASO opened at $58.36 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.92, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.34. 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 one year low of $42.83 and a one year high of $75.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.95 and a 200 day moving average of $56.58.

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

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the director now owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,172. 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 Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $74,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,172. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $548,250.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

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.