American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,990,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the March 15th total of 20,080,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,590,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.0 days.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.30. 5,779,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,656,026. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.58 and a 200-day moving average of $20.75. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $9.95 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.92, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.59.

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

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its board has approved 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 reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $47,047.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,363 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.91, for a total transaction of $47,047.33. The sale was disclosed in a 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,953 shares of company stock worth $2,268,075. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 299.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 905 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 6,980.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

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.