American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Jumps 4.4% – Here’s Why

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shot up 4.4% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as high as $18.58 and last traded at $18.69. 339,918 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 5,482,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.55.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 4.5%

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.13. The firm has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of 9.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 9th. The apparel retailer reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.37 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 23.63%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.1250 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.51%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary McMillan sold 3,617 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total transaction of $65,829.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel Spiegel sold 3,617 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.68, for a total value of $63,948.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at about $458,632,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,261,614 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $154,663,000 after acquiring an additional 509,326 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 162.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,336,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $105,818,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926,230 shares during the period. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,023,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,637,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells apparel, accessories and personal-care products. The company serves teens and young adults through its American Eagle brand, which offers casual clothing including jeans, tops, outerwear, underwear and related accessories.

American Eagle Outfitters also operates Aerie, a lifestyle brand focused on intimates, activewear, swimwear, loungewear and apparel, as well as OFFLINE by Aerie, which emphasizes active and leisure clothing.