American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading Up 2.2% - Still a Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) traded up 2.2% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.58. 843,718 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,667,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. TD Cowen cut their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The company's 50 day moving average is $19.09 and its 200-day moving average is $20.15.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.74%.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were 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 owns 1,771,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $35,507,894.04. This represents a 36.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total transaction of $653,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares in the company, valued at $4,367,304.33. This represents a 13.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 688,869 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $14,266,000 after buying an additional 15,038 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at $141,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 51.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,263 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,679,000 after acquiring an additional 101,795 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth about $931,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $390,000. 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.