Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 52,300 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 534% compared to the average daily volume of 8,248 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $17.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Citigroup set a $13.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $16.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at approximately $931,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth $2,680,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at $378,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth $1,557,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $11.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s fifty day moving average is $13.92 and its 200 day moving average is $17.06. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $10.74 and a 52 week high of $26.25.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.76%.

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.