American Eagle Outfitters Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 24,963 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 392% compared to the average daily volume of 5,069 put options.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $17.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.48. American Eagle Outfitters has a twelve month low of $16.88 and a twelve month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. American Eagle Outfitters’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on AEO shares. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total value of $653,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares in the company, valued at $4,367,304.33. This trade represents a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock worth $21,148,718 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 688,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,266,000 after purchasing an additional 15,038 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $141,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 51.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 298,263 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 101,795 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $931,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $390,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.