UBS Group Cuts Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Price Target to $55.00

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $58.00 to $55.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ASO. Truist Financial raised their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.13.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASO opened at $47.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 12-month low of $43.16 and a 12-month high of $68.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,971 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,699,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $212,807,000 after purchasing an additional 404,863 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,413,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.6% during the 3rd 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. Finally, LSV Asset Management raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,940,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,611,000 after purchasing an additional 241,100 shares in the last quarter.

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.