Bridgewater Associates LP Sells 51,797 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Bridgewater Associates LP reduced its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 62.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,516 shares of the company’s stock after selling 51,797 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $1,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ASO. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $174,054,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,755,000 after buying an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 19.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,969,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,147,000 after buying an additional 481,640 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,515,000 after buying an additional 365,929 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,224,000.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of ASO stock opened at $49.25 on Monday. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $44.73 and a 52-week high of $75.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 7.60, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.62.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. The business had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $552,172. This represents a 11.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI cut Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Truist Financial cut Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $63.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.57.

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.