American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading 6.1% Higher – Should You Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s share price rose 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.97 and last traded at $27.0180. Approximately 5,857,837 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 9,086,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $23.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. BTIG Research began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.45.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 6.6%

The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.41 and a beta of 1.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.90%.The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 243,047 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.30, for a total transaction of $5,906,042.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 191,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,659,549.30. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $49,917.75. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter worth $18,140,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.5% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 950,926 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $11,049,000 after purchasing an additional 4,889 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter worth $2,369,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 3.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,570,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $122,820,000 after purchasing an additional 346,135 shares during the period. 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.