American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $24.70 and last traded at $24.1980, with a volume of 7811447 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.10.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.74 and its 200 day moving average is $14.43.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is 43.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $49,917.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total transaction of $96,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 48,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $934,860.80. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 250,992 shares of company stock worth $6,052,060. 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 increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 68.8% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,281,000. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.