Alliancebernstein L.P. Trims Stock Holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,176 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,581 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.11% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $4,382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 50,715 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,974,000 after purchasing an additional 90,592 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 163,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,384,000 after buying an additional 27,824 shares during the period. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 400,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,041,000 after buying an additional 29,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of ASO opened at $36.57 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.29. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 6.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.34 and a 12-month high of $64.62. 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 (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.21 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company 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 an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ASO. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush 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, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.63.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Company Profile

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.