American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading Up 6.9% – Should You Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 6.7 %

The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.42.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 131.4% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,371 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 264.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 257,914 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 187,196 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 76,056 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,740 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 406,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 26,271 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,933,000. 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.