JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,487 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $9,645,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 758.1% in the fourth quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 157,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,042,000 after buying an additional 138,860 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC now owns 400,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,041,000 after acquiring an additional 29,410 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 91,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,261,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the 4th quarter valued at $836,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 250,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,388,000 after purchasing an additional 39,483 shares in the last quarter.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

ASO opened at $37.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.12, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.26. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.34 and a 1-year high of $64.62. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.13. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 7.49% and a return on equity of 23.32%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.21 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 9.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price target on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $60.00 price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.63.

Academy Sports and Outdoors 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.