Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Grows By 11.7%

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,860,000 shares, a growth of 11.7% from the April 15th total of 4,350,000 shares. Approximately 6.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,410,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of ASO opened at $55.40 on Thursday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $42.83 and a 1-year high of $75.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $62.35 and a 200 day moving average of $61.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.51.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.28 by ($0.05). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 8.43% and a return on equity of 28.99%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.65 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.55%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASO has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. B. Riley reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 target price (up from $65.00) on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $72,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $472,200. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 1st quarter worth approximately $68,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 517.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000.

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.