Empowered Funds LLC Invests $7.90 Million in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 135,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,895,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Academy Sports and Outdoors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,515,000 after acquiring an additional 365,929 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 24.3% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,084 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1.9% during the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 10,860 shares of the company's stock worth $634,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,988 shares of the company's stock worth $3,034,000 after acquiring an additional 6,894 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,096,000 after buying an additional 2,189 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ASO shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $76.00 to $53.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.50.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ASO traded down $1.49 on Friday, hitting $47.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,074,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,311. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a one year low of $45.47 and a one year high of $75.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.07. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.98% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 19th. Academy Sports and Outdoors's payout ratio is 6.79%.

Insider Transactions at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total value of $74,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $552,172. The trade was a 11.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.19% of the company's stock.

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.