Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Has $12.47 Million Position in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 216,712 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,842 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $12,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 6,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nichols & Pratt Advisers LLP MA now owns 5,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 4,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 6.2% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ASO shares. Wedbush 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 research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price 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. TD Cowen boosted 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.13.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Stock Performance

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $46.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.16 and a 52 week high of $68.96. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.98.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. This is an increase from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.11. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s dividend payout ratio 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.