Heartland Advisors Inc. Buys 20,000 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $4,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASO. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 50,715 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 66.4% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 95,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,582,000 after purchasing an additional 38,155 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,971 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,226 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,974,000 after purchasing an additional 90,592 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 203.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 514,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,998,000 after acquiring an additional 344,466 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $46.07 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $52.98. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.16 and a 1 year high of $68.96. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 9.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. B. Riley cut their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.13.

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.