American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Short Interest Up 6.8% in April

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the recipient of 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 presently 5.5 days.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

NYSE AEO opened at $23.69 on Thursday. American Eagle Outfitters has a one year low of $9.95 and a one year high of $26.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.80 and a 200 day moving average of $21.21. The company has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.16 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase 30,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEO has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,585,416.02. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’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 owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,585,416.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 232,459 shares in the company, valued at $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $51,242,000 after buying an additional 155,017 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $193,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.3% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 235,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after buying an additional 5,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 25.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,455 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $622,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.