Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.38.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen increased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. B. Riley dropped their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 98.4% in 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 in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,189 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 6,894 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 24.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,515,000 after purchasing an additional 365,929 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASO opened at $47.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $51.09 and its 200 day moving average is $53.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $43.16 and a 1-year high of $68.96.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is 8.54%.

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.