Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,720,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the December 15th total of 8,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.6 days. Approximately 12.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $52.58 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $44.73 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.02 and a 200-day moving average of $53.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI lowered Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ASO. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the second quarter worth about $174,054,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,971 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 19.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,969,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,147,000 after acquiring an additional 481,640 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 365,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 203.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 514,017 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,998,000 after purchasing an additional 344,466 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.