American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) saw a large decrease in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,130,000 shares, a decrease of 15.4% from the August 15th total of 17,880,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,940,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:AEO traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $19.90. 3,498,525 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,623,173. American Eagle Outfitters has a fifty-two week low of $14.39 and a fifty-two week high of $26.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $20.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.10.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.38 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.31 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEO. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,577 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total value of $53,936.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 30.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,840 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $166,000 after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth $20,917,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,884 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 2,428 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 322,696 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,828,000 after acquiring an additional 54,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 157.6% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 694,881 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $14,704,000 after acquiring an additional 425,113 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is 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.