Xponance Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,916 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 242.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 334 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of ASO stock opened at $48.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.03. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.16 and a 12 month high of $68.96.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 9.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ASO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group decreased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.13.

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.