Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,910,000 shares, a decline of 23.2% from the October 15th total of 6,390,000 shares. Currently, 7.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,172. This trade represents a 11.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the second quarter valued at about $174,054,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 481,640 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,092,000 after acquiring an additional 50,715 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,721,741 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,683,000 after purchasing an additional 69,700 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

NASDAQ ASO opened at $47.80 on Friday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $45.47 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

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.