American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) traded up 6.9% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $17.15 and last traded at $17.14. 1,047,723 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 4,401,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEO shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 0.9 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 14.82, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.53.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insider Activity

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 40.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,370,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $97,858,000 after buying an additional 1,262,693 shares during the period. Soros Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter worth $11,519,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 511.9% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 430,860 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,182,000 after buying an additional 360,447 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,496,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,906,000 after acquiring an additional 281,548 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.