Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of American Eagle Outfitters Call Options (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders bought 31,561 call options on the company. This is an increase of 481% compared to the typical volume of 5,429 call options.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $12.86. 2,203,934 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,129,658. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $12.79 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.80 and a 200-day moving average of $18.38. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on AEO shares. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.44.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,891,000. Brucke Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter valued at about $256,000. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 24,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 16,703 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth about $175,000. Hedge funds and other 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.