Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Price Target Lowered to $55.00 at Morgan Stanley

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) had its price objective cut by Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.38.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $47.23 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.16. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $43.16 and a 1 year high of $68.96. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 6,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 5,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 334 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.