American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $12.65, but opened at $11.26. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $10.58, with a volume of 1,925,857 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup set a $13.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.76%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $931,000. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth $267,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth $378,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth about $1,557,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.