Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Expands By 6.1%

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ASO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.50.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 2.4 %

ASO stock opened at $54.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $43.07 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.57. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.39, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.34.

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

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is presently 6.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $74,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,906 shares in the company, valued at $552,172. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASO. Creative Planning lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 49.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,354,000 after purchasing an additional 7,657 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,403 shares of the company’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter.

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.