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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.82, but opened at $12.00. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $11.60, with a volume of 20,447,629 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEO. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters to $12.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Cfra Research cut American Eagle Outfitters from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price target on American Eagle Outfitters and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.70.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $10.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.45.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.04). American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is 51.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,154,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $267,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $250,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $390,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $277,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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