American Eagle Outfitters Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 34,591 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 23% compared to the typical volume of 28,068 call options.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $23.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $9.27 and a 12-month high of $24.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $17.27 and a 200-day moving average of $14.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05 and a beta of 1.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $49,917.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Janice E. Page sold 26,869 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total transaction of $484,716.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 90,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,630,509.32. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 138,766 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,354. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 50.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at $36,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 8,432.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,655.3% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AEO shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.10.

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.