Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Increases By 6.7%

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,720,000 shares, a growth of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 8,170,000 shares. Currently, 12.7% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on ASO. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of 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. Evercore ISI cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.67.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASO traded up $0.12 on Friday, hitting $52.58. 1,196,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,434. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.89. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $44.73 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 7.22%.

Institutional Trading of Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter worth $40,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000.

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.