American Eagle Outfitters Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors bought 12,453 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 26% compared to the average volume of 9,869 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 380.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% during the 4th 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. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company's stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 0.2 %

AEO stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $11.00. The stock had a trading volume of 511,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,162,047. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $9.44 and a 52-week high of $25.15. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $11.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $15.76. The company has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.76%.

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.