American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Down 1.2% – Here’s Why

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) dropped 1.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $17.10 and last traded at $17.15. Approximately 724,478 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 4,660,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down previously from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James started coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 1.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $19.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.28.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results 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 analyst estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total value of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, 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 the company. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.7% in the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 350,495 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,996,000 after purchasing an additional 18,795 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 46.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,412 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 10,614 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $222,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,399,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew 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 valued at $1,856,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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.