American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $11.10, but opened at $11.37. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $11.25, with a volume of 960,449 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $12.00 to $11.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.80.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $11.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $14.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.56.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 105,949 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. TCM Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 39,400 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 119,074 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company's stock.

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.

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