American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Price Up 1.9% – Time to Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) rose 1.9% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $18.39 and last traded at $18.33. Approximately 1,558,342 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average daily volume of 4,637,051 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AEO. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.32.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total value of $653,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,367,304.33. This trade represents a 13.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 688,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $14,266,000 after purchasing an additional 15,038 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at $141,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,679,000 after buying an additional 101,795 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at $931,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at $390,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.