American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading Up 2.2% – Still a Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) traded up 2.2% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $17.67 and last traded at $17.58. 843,718 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 4,667,638 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $19.17 and a 200 day moving average of $20.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 36.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718 in the last three months. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Research Corp lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 52,537 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,049,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.1% during the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 93,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,856,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 49,669 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at $32,000. 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.