American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $20.83, but opened at $23.86. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $24.0220, with a volume of 9,878,265 shares.

The apparel retailer reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 3.74%.American Eagle Outfitters’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 48.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEO. Wall Street Zen upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.60.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total value of $96,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,640 shares in the company, valued at $934,860.80. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 54,950 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.14, for a total transaction of $996,793.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 221,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,010,880.98. This represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 138,766 shares of company stock worth $2,515,354 in the last quarter. 8.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 151.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 8,432.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 13.8%

The company has a market cap of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.72 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.15 and a 200 day moving average of $14.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

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.