American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $13.62, but opened at $17.75. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $17.87, with a volume of 37,693,719 shares traded.

The apparel retailer reported $0.45 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.43% and a net margin of 3.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on AEO. Cfra Research downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 7th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $13.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 220.5% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,931 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 9,584 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $121,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 21.7% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 77,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 13,771 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 212.2% during the 2nd quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 230,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,216,000 after buying an additional 156,544 shares during the period. Finally, FORA Capital LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 377.4% during the 2nd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 151,213 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 119,540 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 38.0%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $11.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.43. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08 and a beta of 1.45.

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.