American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up to $11.55

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO – Get Rating) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.55, but opened at $12.40. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $11.91, with a volume of 1,348,380 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on AEO shares. UBS Group cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $17.00 to $14.00 in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $13.38.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.43.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 24th. The apparel retailer reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.17. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.07 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 6th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 12,510 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.13, for a total value of $164,256.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 172,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,258,399.39. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 5,761 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total transaction of $76,794.13. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 172,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,292,799.99. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 12,510 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Monday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.13, for a total transaction of $164,256.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 172,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,258,399.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,202 shares of company stock worth $599,822. 7.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Outfitter Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Outfitter Financial LLC now owns 45,495 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 34,252 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $478,000 after purchasing an additional 797 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 65,703 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.34% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a multi-brand specialty retailer, which offers an assortment of apparel and accessories for men and women under the American Eagle Outfitters brand, and intimates, apparel and personal care products for women under the Aerie brand. The firm operates stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom.