American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s stock price shot up 3.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $12.12 and last traded at $12.23. 1,634,714 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 65% from the average session volume of 4,687,950 shares. The stock had previously closed at $11.84.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on AEO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 14th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Raymond James started coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup set a $13.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.39.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 29.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,510.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,509,057 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,225 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth about $35,267,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,408.1% during the fourth quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,244,008 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $20,738,000 after acquiring an additional 1,194,408 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth about $17,558,000. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 868,408.0% during the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 868,508 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $14,478,000 after acquiring an additional 868,408 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently 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.