Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 249,863 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. $ASO

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake of approximately $11.40 million in Academy Sports and Outdoors, purchasing 249,863 shares during the first quarter.
• Academy Sports and Outdoors recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share of $0.76, falling short of the estimated $0.89, along with a decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 9.56%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 249,863 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,396,000. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.38% of Academy Sports and Outdoors as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ASO. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP grew its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 101.5% in the first quarter. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP now owns 816 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 45.6% in the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,156 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,041.7% in the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 25.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 280.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 1,221 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASO shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $43.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $52.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.24.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASO traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $51.21. 1,129,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,639,685. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $49.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.52. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.34 and a fifty-two week high of $64.61.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 10th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.89 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 6.55%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.08 earnings per share. Academy Sports and Outdoors has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.450-6.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's payout ratio is currently 9.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Christopher Lee Turner sold 4,400 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.48, for a total value of $195,712.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 7,084 shares of the company's stock, valued at $315,096.32. The trade was a 38.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 3.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.