Principal Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 341,439 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.49% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $19,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 959,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,210,000 after acquiring an additional 737,212 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $29,998,000 after acquiring an additional 344,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,413,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Citigroup initiated coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of 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. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.67.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ASO opened at $50.57 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.96. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $44.73 and a fifty-two week high of $75.73. The company has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 7.22%.

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.