American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Price Down 0.5% - Time to Sell?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) were down 0.5% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $17.31 and last traded at $17.62. 1,053,914 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 4,645,818 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on AEO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $19.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.36. The firm has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at $108,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $141,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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