Hodges Capital Management Inc. Raises Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 54.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 390,144 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 137,321 shares during the period. Academy Sports and Outdoors comprises about 1.4% of Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Hodges Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.56% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $22,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Foster & Motley Inc. grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. now owns 23,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 3,550 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $152,413,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 150.0% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 57,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,332,000 after acquiring an additional 34,731 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 88.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.67.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of ASO opened at $52.31 on Monday. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $44.73 and a twelve month high of $75.73. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 8.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $54.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.00.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.39 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 18th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 7.22%.

Academy Sports and Outdoors 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.