Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $39.22, but opened at $43.92. Academy Sports and Outdoors shares last traded at $45.17, with a volume of 561,200 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ASO. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush cut their target price on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group dropped their price objective on 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. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.75.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 0.6%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.69. The stock has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.43, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.57.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a boost 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 1.15%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 147,395 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company's stock worth $152,413,000 after purchasing an additional 197,384 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 12.5% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 36.1% during 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. boosted its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 33.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,675,428 shares of the company's stock worth $76,416,000 after purchasing an additional 422,729 shares during the last quarter.

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.