American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $13.62, but opened at $17.75. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $17.87, with a volume of 37,693,719 shares trading hands.

The apparel retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.25. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AEO. Bank of America reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Cfra Research lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $13.94.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 220.5% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 13,931 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $134,000 after purchasing an additional 9,584 shares in the last quarter. PVG Asset Management Corp purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at $121,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 21.7% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 77,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 13,771 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 212.2% during the second quarter. Caxton Associates LLP now owns 230,312 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after purchasing an additional 156,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 377.4% during the second quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 151,213 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,455,000 after purchasing an additional 119,540 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $11.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.46.

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.