American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Short Interest Update

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,550,000 shares, a growth of 6.8% from the March 31st total of 22,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEO has been the topic of a number of research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.18.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total value of $180,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at $5,585,416.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter valued at $2,708,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter valued at $956,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 172.5% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 106,906 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after acquiring an additional 67,680 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 20.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 299,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,715,000 after purchasing an additional 50,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter valued at about $428,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 2.3 %

AEO stock opened at $23.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $23.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.21. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $9.95 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 30,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.