American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Up 6.1% – What’s Next?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shot up 6.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $26.97 and last traded at $27.0180. 5,857,837 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 36% from the average session volume of 9,086,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $23.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.45.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.63. The stock has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44 and a beta of 1.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.10%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total transaction of $49,917.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 243,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.30, for a total value of $5,906,042.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 191,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,659,549.30. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 50.0% during the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,817 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,282 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 119,074 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.