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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $17.22, but opened at $17.71. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $17.99, with a volume of 812,097 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.52.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 40.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total transaction of $405,976.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,406.24. This trade represents a 31.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $20,039,979.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter worth $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth about $108,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $140,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.