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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 24,550,000 shares, an increase of 6.8% from the March 31st total of 22,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,470,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $652,010.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938. 7.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter worth $2,708,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 1st quarter worth about $956,000. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 172.5% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 106,906 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,757,000 after purchasing an additional 67,680 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 20.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 299,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,715,000 after purchasing an additional 50,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter valued at about $428,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.18.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO opened at $23.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.21. American Eagle Outfitters has a one year low of $9.95 and a one year high of $26.44. The company has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 3.23%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. On average, analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 30,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.