Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Grows By 14.8%

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,740,000 shares, a growth of 14.8% from the May 31st total of 5,000,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,570,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 0.0 %

ASO stock opened at $50.65 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $42.83 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.00.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.19 by ($0.11). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 8.17% and a return on equity of 27.18%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.19 EPS. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $72,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 7,870 shares in the company, valued at $472,200. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ASO. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,655,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $175,290,000 after purchasing an additional 80,218 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,089,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,878,000 after acquiring an additional 559,414 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,652,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,068,000 after acquiring an additional 365,855 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,552,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,486,000 after acquiring an additional 10,900 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.9% during the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,241,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,823,000 after purchasing an additional 10,545 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASO. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $85.00 target price for the company. Bank of America downgraded Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $75.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.87.

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.