Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Shares Purchased by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,182 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,516 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $6,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at $52,402,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at $47,436,000. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 959,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,210,000 after purchasing an additional 737,212 shares during the period. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at $42,320,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 77.2% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,252,699 shares of the company's stock valued at $72,068,000 after purchasing an additional 545,778 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded up $0.97 on Tuesday, hitting $47.36. The stock had a trading volume of 520,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,635,591. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $33.34 and a 52-week high of $64.62. 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 stock has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50 day moving average price is $41.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.82.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors's payout ratio is presently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial set a $45.00 price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.44.

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.