American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $11.06, but opened at $11.80. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $11.50, with a volume of 2,124,255 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AEO shares. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $15.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Citigroup set a $13.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 4.4 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $14.76 and its 200 day moving average is $17.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 88,237 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,976,000 after buying an additional 3,264 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $1,827,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 514.1% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 293,937 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,581,000 after buying an additional 246,070 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 40.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 15,273 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $342,000 after acquiring an additional 4,384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter worth $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.