Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases Shares of 4,722 Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $272,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 240.8% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 1,307.1% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 843 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,084 shares of the company’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 408 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ASO. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $65.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial increased 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. Citigroup decreased 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 research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $60.38.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ASO opened at $47.23 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 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. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.16. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a one year low of $43.16 and a one year high of $68.96.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The company reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.14. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.21 EPS. Research analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. 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 an increase 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%.

About Academy Sports and Outdoors

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.