Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $61.33.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the second quarter valued at about $174,054,000. FMR LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,969,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,147,000 after purchasing an additional 481,640 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,515,000 after buying an additional 365,929 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 203.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 514,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,998,000 after buying an additional 344,466 shares during the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of ASO stock opened at $60.05 on Monday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 12 month low of $44.73 and a 12 month high of $75.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $51.92 and a 200-day moving average of $53.58.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.92 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.22%.

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.