Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 1,428 Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 724.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,625 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $93,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ASO. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter worth $306,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 94.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,300 shares of the company’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,822 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,139,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,033,000 after acquiring an additional 8,848 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Loop Capital cut their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. B. Riley decreased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.63.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

ASO opened at $36.88 on Wednesday. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $33.34 and a 1 year high of $64.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.36. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 6.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.01%.

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.