Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $70.70 and last traded at $70.1860, with a volume of 91,161 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.26.

Key Stories Impacting Academy Sports and Outdoors

Here are the key news stories impacting Academy Sports and Outdoors this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with an “overweight” rating and an $89 price target, suggesting substantial potential upside from the reference price. Cantor Fitzgerald recommendations
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent Zacks articles discuss ASO’s valuation and performance relative to peers, but the supplied summaries do not provide a clear conclusion or new earnings-related catalyst. Zacks valuation article Zacks peer-performance article
• Neutral Sentiment: A short-interest report describes a significant increase but also reports zero shares sold short and zero days to cover, making the figures internally inconsistent and difficult to interpret.
• Negative Sentiment: Loop Capital lowered its rating from “buy” to “hold” and set a $69 target, citing valuation, although it remained upbeat on the company’s fundamentals. Loop Capital rating change

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ASO. BMO Capital Markets set a $42.00 price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Monday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $89.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.27.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 1.1%

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.14. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.24. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 18.36% and a net margin of 6.39%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Academy Sports and Outdoors has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.500-6.900 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 16th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio is 10.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Brian Marley sold 10,432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total transaction of $555,504.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,607 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,736,322.75. This trade represents a 24.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Samuel J. Johnson sold 70,303 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.79, for a total transaction of $3,640,992.37. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 36,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,031.19. This trade represents a 65.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 106,315 shares of company stock valued at $5,576,537. Insiders own 4.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASO. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 52.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 736 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 38.9% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 921 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,000.

About Academy Sports and Outdoors

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. is a sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer that sells products through its stores and e-commerce platform. Its merchandise includes sports and fitness equipment, outdoor and camping gear, hunting and fishing supplies, apparel, footwear and recreation products. The company serves customers primarily in the southern and eastern United States through a network of retail locations. Its stores offer products for a range of sports and outdoor activities, as well as items for everyday use.