Meritage Portfolio Management Boosts Stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO)

Meritage Portfolio Management increased its stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASO) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,337 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Academy Sports and Outdoors were worth $550,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASO. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,933,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2,687.8% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 300,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,194,000 after buying an additional 289,506 shares during the period. Pacifica Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,889,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at approximately $7,380,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,551,000.

Insider Transactions at Academy Sports and Outdoors

In other Academy Sports and Outdoors news, Director Jeffrey C. Tweedy sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total value of $72,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $472,200. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $85.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.82.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Friday, hitting $60.41. The stock had a trading volume of 487,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,341,228. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.78. Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.83 and a 1 year high of $75.73.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 26th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Academy Sports and Outdoors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 25th. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s payout ratio is presently 6.55%.

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.