Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $44.66, but opened at $43.30. Academy Sports and Outdoors shares last traded at $43.08, with a volume of 65,564 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ASO. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.75.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 2.4%

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 price is $41.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.59. The company has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's payout ratio is currently 9.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,846,410 shares of the company's stock worth $175,438,000 after buying an additional 147,395 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,413,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,182,341 shares of the company's stock worth $99,537,000 after purchasing an additional 242,300 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.1% in the first quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,992,997 shares of the company's stock worth $90,901,000 after purchasing an additional 528,367 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 33.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,675,428 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,416,000 after purchasing an additional 422,729 shares in the last quarter.

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.

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