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

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,280,000 shares, a growth of 27.9% from the October 31st total of 4,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,400,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 9.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $76.00 to $53.00 in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Truist Financial downgraded Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $63.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.57.

Insider Transactions at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In related news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,906 shares in the company, valued at $552,172. This trade represents a 11.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASO. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,139,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 94.7% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter worth about $306,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $118,092,000 after purchasing an additional 50,715 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:ASO traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $49.25. The company had a trading volume of 875,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,435,730. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $44.73 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.76 and a 200 day moving average of $53.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders 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 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.79%.

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.