Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) Cut to Hold at Loop Capital

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Loop Capital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, FinViz reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ASO. Barclays raised their price objective on Academy Sports and Outdoors from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from $55.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets set a $42.00 price target on shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Academy Sports and Outdoors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.71.

Academy Sports and Outdoors Price Performance

Academy Sports and Outdoors stock opened at $71.18 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.86, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.94. Academy Sports and Outdoors has a 52-week low of $41.29 and a 52-week high of $71.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.07.

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.65 billion. Academy Sports and Outdoors had a net margin of 6.39% and a return on equity of 18.36%. Academy Sports and Outdoors’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Academy Sports and Outdoors has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.500-6.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Academy Sports and Outdoors will post 6.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Brian T. Marley sold 10,432 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.25, for a total value of $555,504.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,607 shares in the company, valued at $1,736,322.75. The trade was a 24.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Samuel Johnson sold 70,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.79, for a total value of $3,640,992.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 36,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,909,031.19. This represents a 65.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 106,315 shares of company stock valued at $5,576,537. 4.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Academy Sports and Outdoors

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 66.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 8,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 3,198 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 2.3% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 563,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,092,000 after acquiring an additional 12,483 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 11.3% in the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Academy Sports and Outdoors by 4.3% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,131,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,410,000 after acquiring an additional 46,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Academy Sports and Outdoors in the third quarter valued at about $56,415,000.

About Academy Sports and Outdoors

Academy Sports and Outdoors, Inc is a sporting goods and outdoor recreation retailer that sells products through its stores and e-commerce platform. Its merchandise includes sports and fitness equipment, outdoor and camping gear, hunting and fishing supplies, apparel, footwear and recreation products.

The company serves customers primarily in the southern and eastern United States through a network of retail locations. Its stores offer products for a range of sports and outdoor activities, as well as items for everyday use.

Founded in 1938, Academy began as a family-owned business in Texas and grew into a regional sporting goods retailer.