Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,880,000 shares, an increase of 6.1% from the September 15th total of 5,540,000 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.1 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $552,172. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASO. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 54.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Your Advocates Ltd. LLP boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 117.3% in the second quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 1,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 921 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASO has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.50.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ ASO opened at $56.00 on Thursday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 12 month low of $43.07 and a 12 month high of $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $55.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $55.58.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.73%.

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.