Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.67.

Several research firms have commented on ASO. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 2.9 %

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $45.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a one year low of $43.16 and a one year high of $72.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $52.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.45.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted 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 business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASO. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 98.4% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,041.7% during the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period.

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.