American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Up 3.3% - Time to Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) was up 3.3% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $21.45 and last traded at $21.39. Approximately 131,225 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 4,576,185 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. TD Cowen dropped 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 restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.75.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 1.6 %

The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.67.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 200,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,304.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,367,304.33. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $20,039,979.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,048,419 shares of company stock worth $21,099,657. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 1,050.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,681,465 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $56,740,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448,400 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $61,315,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,936,938 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 179.1% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,691,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $53,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,982 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 62.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,233,659 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $47,264,000 after purchasing an additional 860,578 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company's stock.

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.