American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Time to Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shares shot up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $18.22 and last traded at $17.78. 1,207,496 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 4,494,184 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 2.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $19.91 and a 200-day moving average of $20.77. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.52.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 4.58%. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total value of $653,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 200,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,367,304.33. The trade was a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investors Research Corp boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 52,537 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 93,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,856,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 49,669 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alhambra Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 15,275 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.