Investors Buy High Volume of Put Options on Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO)

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 8,017 put options on the company. This is an increase of 142% compared to the average volume of 3,317 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASO. FMR LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 959,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,210,000 after buying an additional 737,212 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,515,000 after buying an additional 365,929 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 514,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,998,000 after buying an additional 344,466 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,413,000 after buying an additional 197,384 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASO traded down $1.47 on Friday, hitting $53.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 554,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,575. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.05. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $44.73 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on 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. Truist Financial upped their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

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.