American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading 6.8% Higher – Still a Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s share price was up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $18.83 and last traded at $18.80. Approximately 1,013,542 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 4,494,840 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 6.0 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.91 and a 200-day moving average of $20.75. The firm has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.52.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.25 EPS. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.00%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total transaction of $405,976.80. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,406.24. This trade represents a 31.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $20,039,979.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock worth $21,148,718. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at about $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth about $140,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

About American Eagle Outfitters

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.