Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (ASO): Among Billionaire David Harding's Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential

We recently published a list of Billionaire David Harding’s 10 Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (NYSE:ASO) stands against other billionaire David Harding’s stock picks with huge upside potential.

David Harding is a British hedge fund manager and physicist by training, studied natural sciences at St. Catharine’s College, University of Cambridge, with a focus on theoretical physics. His education in empirical science would go on to inform his pioneering approach to financial markets. Harding began his career in finance in the mid-1980s, working at Sabre Fund Management. At Sabre, he was instrumental in developing early systematic trading models that used statistical analysis to identify patterns in market behavior. This experience laid the foundation for his future endeavors in quantitative finance.

In 1997, he established Winton Capital Management (now Winton Group), with the goal of applying scientific research and data-driven techniques to financial markets. Under Harding’s leadership, Winton grew rapidly, at one point managing over $28 billion in assets. The firm became one of the most prominent names in the quantitative hedge fund space, known for its commitment to rigorous data analysis and skepticism toward discretionary trading. Winton’s strategies typically involve global futures and equities, relying on vast historical datasets and algorithmic models rather than human intuition.

In recent years, Harding’s firm has experienced a resurgence. After a significant downturn, Winton rebounded with a 47% return in 2022, marking its best performance since the financial crisis. As of the end of last year, the firm’s assets under management had risen to $12.3 billion, reflecting a strong recovery. ​Winton remains committed to its systematic, research-driven approach. The firm’s ability to adapt to changing market conditions and its focus on long-term trends suggest potential for sustained performance in the future.

At the LSEG Lipper Fund Awards 2024, Winton Capital Management was honored with the “Best Fund over 3 Years” award in the Managed Futures category. This accolade recognizes the firm’s outstanding risk-adjusted performance over a three-year period. The Awards are based on the Lipper Leader rating for Consistent Return, which evaluates funds using a risk-adjusted performance measure over multiple non-overlapping periods. This methodology ensures that the winners have provided superior consistency and risk-adjusted returns compared to similar funds. This recognition underscores Winton’s commitment to delivering high-quality, systematic investment strategies that prioritize consistent performance for investors.

Our Methodology

For this list, we picked stocks from Winston Group’s 13F portfolio as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. We listed them in the ascending order of analysts’ average upside potential. These equities are also popular among other hedge funds.

Note: All data was recorded on April 29, 2025.

At Insider Monkey we are obsessed with the stocks that hedge funds pile into. The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).

Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (NYSE:ASO)

Winton Group’s stake: $9,042,450

Upside Potential: 44.65%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 30

Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (NYSE:ASO) is a leading U.S. retailer offering a broad, value-based assortment of sporting goods, apparel, footwear, and outdoor recreation products. Founded in 1938, it operates 298 stores across 19 states, focusing on active families and casual participants. With strong national and private label brand offerings, Academy delivers affordable, localized products tailored to community needs. Its growing omnichannel strategy, including BOPIS and e-commerce, supports expansion in fast-growing markets and enhances customer convenience and loyalty, driving long-term growth opportunities.

Last year, Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (NYSE:ASO) is focused on revitalizing e-commerce through improved site functionality, broader SKU offerings, and faster fulfillment, including same-day delivery. It’s further enhancing its existing stores by introducing new brands like Jordan and expanding partnerships with Nike, Converse, and others. Academy aims to maintain its value leadership, targeting budget-conscious consumers by offering quality products at competitive prices. These strategies are intended to drive long-term growth and strengthen its market position across channels.

Academy Sports & Outdoors, Inc. (NYSE:ASO) plans to hold prices on key traffic-driving items despite tariff pressures by using pricing tools and expanding private labels like Brazos. New brand launches, including a Jacob Wheeler line, which will enhance value. Growth will also come from loyalty efforts—11 million enrolled customers—and improved marketing via a new agency. Tech rollouts, including RFID and handheld POS, aim to boost inventory accuracy and omnichannel conversion.

Overall, ASO ranks 3rd on our list of billionaire David Harding’s stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the growth potential of ASO, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold great promise for delivering high returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ASO but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.