Morgan Stanley Lowers Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Price Target to $55.00

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Morgan Stanley from $60.00 to $55.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $60.38.

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Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

NASDAQ ASO traded up $1.85 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.08. The company had a trading volume of 738,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,537,098. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.15. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a fifty-two week low of $43.16 and a fifty-two week high of $68.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Academy Sports and Outdoors's payout ratio is presently 8.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,023,192 shares of the company's stock worth $118,092,000 after purchasing an additional 50,715 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 66.4% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 95,644 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,582,000 after buying an additional 38,155 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $626,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422,971 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,226 shares of the company's stock worth $40,974,000 after acquiring an additional 90,592 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 3rd quarter valued at $633,000.

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.