Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASO. Trust Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Trust Investment Advisors now owns 14,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $976,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 8,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 8,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,980 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 28,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $63.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $82.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 625 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.25, for a total value of $33,906.25. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,106 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,250.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASO traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $53.29. 1,657,830 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,536,038. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.83 and a 52-week high of $75.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.34.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 11th. The company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by ($0.11). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 27.18% and a net margin of 8.17%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.19 EPS. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.35 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.