American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Trading 7.2% Higher - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• American Eagle Outfitters' stock price rose 7.2% to $19.65 during trading, with a significant decline of 39% in volume compared to the average daily trades.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for AEO, with UBS Group setting a new target of $21.50, while the consensus target price stands at $13.94.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed expectations at $0.45 earnings per share, and revenue totaled $1.28 billion, indicating strong performance despite a slight year-over-year decline.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 7.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $19.47 and last traded at $19.65. Approximately 5,767,565 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 9,515,904 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.34.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on AEO shares. UBS Group raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $13.94.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.54 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.60.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.23 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 3.74%.American Eagle Outfitters's quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 9,002 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total value of $163,026.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janice E. Page sold 26,869 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total value of $484,716.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 90,383 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,630,509.32. This trade represents a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 135,821 shares of company stock valued at $2,465,436 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,570,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $122,820,000 after purchasing an additional 346,135 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 29.9% during the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 7,791,193 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $90,534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,794,203 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,329,202 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $60,887,000 after purchasing an additional 312,168 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 22.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,305,889 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $61,654,000 after purchasing an additional 962,730 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 37.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,455,961 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $40,158,000 after purchasing an additional 946,904 shares in the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.