Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Short Interest Down 11.6% in January

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,540,000 shares, a decline of 11.6% from the January 15th total of 8,530,000 shares. Approximately 11.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of ASO stock traded down $0.06 on Friday, reaching $53.56. 888,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,355,743. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $54.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.86. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $44.73 and a 1-year high of $75.73.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is currently 7.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,971 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,699,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $212,807,000 after purchasing an additional 404,863 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,413,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,092,000 after purchasing an additional 50,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,940,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,611,000 after purchasing an additional 241,100 shares during 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.