Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,010,989 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172,783 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $66,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at $47,768,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.6% in 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 buying an additional 559,414 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at $25,933,000. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 28.4% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,652,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,068,000 after buying an additional 365,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 953.5% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 403,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,629,000 after buying an additional 365,168 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASO. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $82.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $81.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $72,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

ASO opened at $53.78 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.22, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.37. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $42.83 and a twelve month high of $75.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $62.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 20th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.73%.

Academy Sports and Outdoors 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.