American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading 2.2% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) were up 2.2% on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.58. Approximately 843,718 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 4,667,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group reduced their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $653,700.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,367,304.33. The trade was a 13.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 688,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $14,266,000 after acquiring an additional 15,038 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 101,795 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $931,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $390,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc operates as a multi-brand specialty retailer in the United States and internationally. The company provides jeans, apparel and accessories, and personal care products for women and men under the American Eagle brand; and intimates, apparel, activewear, and swim collections under the Aerie and OFFLINE by Aerie brands.