Penn Capital Management Company LLC Grows Stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Penn Capital Management Company LLC raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 174,851 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 24,674 shares during the quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $10,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter worth $306,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 94.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 8,300 shares of the company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 4,038 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,139,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 326,132 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,033,000 after purchasing an additional 8,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 7,735 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASO traded down $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.86. The company had a trading volume of 319,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,940. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.34 and a 12 month high of $64.62. The company has a fifty day moving average of $43.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.14. The company 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 revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current 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. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 9.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. B. Riley decreased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eight 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, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.63.

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.