Loop Capital Reaffirms Buy Rating for Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO)

Loop Capital reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Loop Capital currently has a $77.00 price target on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ASO. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. UBS Group cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a buy rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $58.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $62.86.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 5.6 %

Shares of ASO stock opened at $59.01 on Wednesday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $42.83 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.02, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.34.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 52.3% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,066,000 after purchasing an additional 15,955 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,014.0% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 213,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,094,000 after acquiring an additional 194,373 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,010,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,725,000 after acquiring an additional 172,783 shares during the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,021,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,089,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,878,000 after acquiring an additional 559,414 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.