Head to Head Analysis: Academy Sports and Outdoors (ASO) vs. Its Competitors

Academy Sports and Outdoors (NASDAQ:ASO) is one of 285 public companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Academy Sports and Outdoors to related companies based on the strength of its risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, profitability, valuation, dividends and institutional ownership.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Academy Sports and Outdoors and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Academy Sports and Outdoors	$6.05 billion	$376.77 million	11.73
Academy Sports and Outdoors Competitors	$7.06 billion	$386.51 million	31.17

Academy Sports and Outdoors’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than Academy Sports and Outdoors. Academy Sports and Outdoors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

51.9% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 4.1% of Academy Sports and Outdoors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Academy Sports and Outdoors and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Academy Sports and Outdoors	6.39%	18.36%	7.29%
Academy Sports and Outdoors Competitors	-3.62%	-13.77%	3.21%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Academy Sports and Outdoors and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Academy Sports and Outdoors	0	9	7	1	2.53
Academy Sports and Outdoors Competitors	3685	15615	21635	592	2.46

Academy Sports and Outdoors presently has a consensus price target of $61.27, suggesting a potential downside of 12.96%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 6.57%. Given Academy Sports and Outdoors’ peers higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Academy Sports and Outdoors has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Dividends

Academy Sports and Outdoors pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Academy Sports and Outdoors pays out 10.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.6% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Academy Sports and Outdoors has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Volatility and Risk

Academy Sports and Outdoors has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Academy Sports and Outdoors’ peers have a beta of 1.91, meaning that their average share price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Academy Sports and Outdoors peers beat Academy Sports and Outdoors on 9 of the 15 factors compared.

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.