American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Price Up 1.9% - What's Next?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report)'s share price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $18.42 and last traded at $17.95. 2,896,858 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 37% from the average session volume of 4,623,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on AEO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 research note on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. 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 research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $19.70 and a 200-day moving average of $20.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.34, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,771,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock worth $21,148,718. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,107,933 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $62,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,938 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 179.1% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,691,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $53,722,000 after buying an additional 1,726,982 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% in the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $64,727,000 after buying an additional 865,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,861,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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