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

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $60.38.

ASO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

ASO opened at $47.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.16. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $43.16 and a 1 year high of $68.96. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASO. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 915 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,041.7% in the 4th quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.