William Blair Investment Management LLC Invests $52.40 Million in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 910,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $52,402,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 1.31% of Academy Sports and Outdoors as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter worth about $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 242.9% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,190 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position 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 in the last quarter.

Remove Ads

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

ASO traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.23. 4,848,375 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,673,653. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.16 and a 52 week high of $68.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.57, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.30 and a 200 day moving average of $53.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.10%. This is a positive change from Academy Sports and Outdoors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Academy Sports and Outdoors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen lifted 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $60.38.

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.