American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Short Interest Update

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,370,000 shares, a growth of 17.4% from the January 15th total of 13,090,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 5,060,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AEO shares. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $14.35 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $16.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.76. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $14.07 and a 52-week high of $26.44. The company has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.74%.

About American Eagle Outfitters

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.