Short Interest in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Expands By 6.7%

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,720,000 shares, an increase of 6.7% from the December 31st total of 8,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.6 days. Currently, 12.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,181 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 183.7% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 100,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after buying an additional 64,770 shares in the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 45.4% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 7,495 shares of the company’s stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter worth $294,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 22,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 7,500 shares during the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

ASO traded down $1.26 on Monday, hitting $51.05. 1,154,977 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,500,773. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.00. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a twelve month low of $44.73 and a twelve month high of $75.73. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 8.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.23.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 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 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ASO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen lifted 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.67.

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.