Traders Purchase Large Volume of Academy Sports and Outdoors Put Options (NASDAQ:ASO)

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 8,017 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 142% compared to the typical volume of 3,317 put options.

Institutional Trading of Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company's stock worth $626,755,000 after buying an additional 1,422,971 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 331.4% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 959,680 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,210,000 after purchasing an additional 737,212 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 62.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 951,256 shares of the company's stock worth $55,515,000 after purchasing an additional 365,929 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 203.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 514,017 shares of the company's stock worth $29,998,000 after buying an additional 344,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,649,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,413,000 after buying an additional 197,384 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $61.67.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded down $0.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $54.52. 229,389 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,472,183. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1-year low of $44.73 and a 1-year high of $75.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $53.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.04.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.28 by ($0.30). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Academy Sports and Outdoors's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 18th were given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio is 7.22%.

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.

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