Cerity Partners LLC Purchases 65,220 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 127.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,264 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,220 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $6,785,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ASO. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the first quarter worth $348,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 12,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 1st quarter valued at $201,000. Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 10,640 shares of the company’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 1st quarter valued at about $262,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASO. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Truist Financial cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 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 Wednesday, September 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.57.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASO opened at $48.85 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $53.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.73. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $44.73 and a 1-year high of $75.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.54, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 6.79%.

Insider Activity at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $552,172. The trade was a 11.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.