American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.73, but opened at $17.23. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $17.5840, with a volume of 748,865 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Barclays cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 29th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $22.00 price target on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Monday, June 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.09.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.20.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.29) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.77, for a total transaction of $48,498.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 2,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $48,527.76. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 11,563 shares of company stock worth $196,599 in the last 90 days. 8.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $458,632,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 920.6% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 5,497,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,066,000 after purchasing an additional 4,959,039 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 162.9% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,336,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $105,818,000 after buying an additional 3,926,230 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,570.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 3,119,444 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $53,654,000 after buying an additional 2,932,699 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,023,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.