American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Down to $21.78

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $21.78, but opened at $21.17. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $21.32, with a volume of 234,755 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on AEO shares. StockNews.com raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $20.68 and its 200-day moving average is $22.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.51.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.06. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.12% and a return on equity of 19.39%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 12th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 12th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,577 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total transaction of $53,936.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the first quarter worth $27,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 299.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 6,980.0% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,080 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the first quarter worth about $59,000. 97.33% of the stock is 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.