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

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 10,137 put options on the company. This is an increase of 357% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,216 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.00, for a total transaction of $74,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,906 shares in the company, valued at $552,172. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter worth about $240,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,739,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,755,000 after buying an additional 1,422,971 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors during the third quarter worth $633,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 127.8% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 116,264 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,785,000 after acquiring an additional 65,220 shares during the period.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

ASO stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, reaching $49.84. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 142,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,259. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s fifty day moving average is $55.14 and its 200-day moving average is $54.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.37. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 1 year low of $45.47 and a 1 year high of $75.73.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.07. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is 6.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $60.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $68.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Academy Sports and Outdoors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.50.

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.