American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $20.63 and last traded at $20.5350, with a volume of 4742047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.50 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Monday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.11.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.64 and a beta of 1.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $17.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.62.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.25. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 3.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.08%.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total transaction of $96,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 48,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $934,860.80. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $724,800.00. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 138,766 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,354 in the last 90 days. 8.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,086 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the first quarter worth $791,000. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter worth $520,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter valued at $135,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 158.4% in the 1st quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 58,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $681,000 after purchasing an additional 35,925 shares during the period. 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.