First Trust Advisors LP Has $7.05 Million Stock Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) by 38.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 122,549 shares of the company's stock after selling 76,445 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.18% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $7,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $152,413,000 after acquiring an additional 197,384 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,940,041 shares of the company's stock worth $111,611,000 after purchasing an additional 241,100 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Royce & Associates LP grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,174,576 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,573,000 after purchasing an additional 223,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 331.4% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 959,680 shares of the company's stock worth $55,210,000 after buying an additional 737,212 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ASO shares. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of 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. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $77.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.81.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $39.09. 1,150,317 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,623,740. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.49. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.34 and a 1-year high of $64.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.01%.

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.