Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,690,000 shares, a decrease of 39.0% from the March 15th total of 7,690,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 6.4% of the company's stock are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 48,019 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,892,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 117.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 850,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,529,000 after buying an additional 459,085 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $190,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 1st quarter valued at $447,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 57.0% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 42,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 15,599 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ASO. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $77.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.81.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 0.9 %

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $59.62. The stock had a trading volume of 953,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,345,740. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.87. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a twelve month low of $42.83 and a twelve month high of $75.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.35.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 26th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 25th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.74%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.55%.

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, camping accessories and equipment, sunglasses, backpacks, and sports bags; 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, optics, airguns, and hunting equipment.