American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $16.73, but opened at $17.23. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $17.5840, with a volume of 748,865 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, August 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.09.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 5.5%

The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.11.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.29) earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is 30.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.77, for a total value of $48,498.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 2,892 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $48,527.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,563 shares of company stock worth $196,599. 8.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 162,243 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,885,000 after acquiring an additional 32,191 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 105,726 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 4,599 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,238.2% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 52,551 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 48,624 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 9.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,937 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 349.9% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 538,681 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,182,000 after purchasing an additional 418,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.