Academy Sports and Outdoors Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:ASO)

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors acquired 8,017 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 142% compared to the average daily volume of 3,317 put options.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $53.97 on Thursday. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $44.73 and a 1 year high of $75.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $54.11 and a 200 day moving average of $54.04. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.25. 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 (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 10th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.30). Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 23.32% and a net margin of 7.49%. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 18th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 7.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $65.00 to $60.00 in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.67.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ASO. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,570,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 183.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 100,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,326,000 after acquiring an additional 64,770 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 43.4% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 612,175 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,598,000 after buying an additional 185,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,538,000.

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.