William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $52.40 Million in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 910,869 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,402,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 242.9% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 24.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 408 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $46.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a PE ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $51.98 and its 200 day moving average is $53.36. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.16 and a 1 year high of $72.43.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 8.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ASO. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.33.

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.