Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Drops By 20.5%

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,560,000 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the March 31st total of 8,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,800,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days. Currently, 10.0% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 45.6% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,041.7% during the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 25.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 0.2 %

ASO stock opened at $37.59 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 6.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.60. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a fifty-two week low of $33.34 and a fifty-two week high of $64.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ASO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $43.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective 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. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $57.81.

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.