Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Short Interest Up 6.7% in December

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during 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. Currently, 12.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $52.58 on Tuesday. The firm 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 has a 52 week low of $44.73 and a 52 week high of $75.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on ASO. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI lowered Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $174,054,000. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 19.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,969,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,147,000 after purchasing an additional 481,640 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,515,000 after buying an additional 365,929 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 344,466 shares during the period.

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.