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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s share price traded up 2.2% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.58. 843,718 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,667,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.20.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.19.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total value of $405,976.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,406.24. This represents a 31.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the 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 $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock worth $21,148,718. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth about $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter valued at about $140,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.