Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) by 19.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 114,111 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,289 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.16% of Academy Sports and Outdoors worth $6,565,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 40.0% during the fourth quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 70,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,027,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 4th quarter worth $47,436,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 216,712 shares of the company's stock worth $12,467,000 after buying an additional 50,842 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 758.1% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 157,178 shares of the company's stock worth $9,042,000 after acquiring an additional 138,860 shares during the period. Finally, Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 400,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,041,000 after buying an additional 29,410 shares in the last quarter.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASO has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $58.63.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded down $0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $37.10. The stock had a trading volume of 250,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,610,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 1.57 and a quick ratio of 0.32. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $33.34 and a 12 month high of $64.62. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 6.09, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $46.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.13.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.