Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 3,050 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 214,919 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,050 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $12,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASO. Heartland Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 40.0% in the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 70,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after acquiring an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter worth about $47,436,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 216,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,467,000 after purchasing an additional 50,842 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 758.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 157,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,042,000 after purchasing an additional 138,860 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 400,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,041,000 after buying an additional 29,410 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush cut their price objective on 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.69.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $47.63 on Thursday. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.16 and a 1 year high of $64.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.19 and its 200 day moving average is $52.76. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.82, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. 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. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued 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 is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.01%.

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.