Continue reading U.S. Stock Futures Gain as Investors Await Economic Data

U.S. Stock Futures Gain as Investors Await Economic Data originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading American Eagle Could Go Private?

American Eagle Could Go Private? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of retailer American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) traded sharply higher Wednesday morning after the company posted stronger-than-expected fourth quarter results before the market open.

Going into the earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see the Pittsburgh-based company report earnings of $0.43 per share, but the company beat by a penny with earnings of $0.44. During the same period last year the company had earnings of $0.38 per share.

Continue reading American Eagle Soars Following Q4 Earnings Report

American Eagle Soars Following Q4 Earnings Report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

So, the unemployment rate sank below 9% in February, but investors didn't seem to be impressed by that. The Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all fell on Friday over concerns about how the ongoing unrest in the Middle East might affect energy prices, and thus the economic recovery.

Will this coming week's economic calendar offer anything likely to bring excitement to the markets? Here's what's on tap:

• Monday: Consumer credit numbers for January
• Tuesday: Weekly chain store sales, TIPP Economic Optimism Index

Continue reading Week in Preview: Retail Sales, Consumer Credit and Earnings

Week in Preview: Retail Sales, Consumer Credit and Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) was not in vogue on Friday. The stock closed down just under 4% to $14.46 on significant volume.

I've been previously bullish on the stock, as I mentioned in an article back in November, but, with the current price action, I've obviously become cautious. The 52-week low for the shares is $11.35 and the 52-week high is $19.64. The following chart plainly shows both the shorter-term and the longer-term pullback from the yearly high that the company is undergoing.

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters Sells Off -- Is It a Buy?

American Eagle Outfitters Sells Off -- Is It a Buy? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• InterMune (ITMN) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merill.
• Halliburton (HAL), Cloud Peak Energy (CLD), Patriot Coal (PCX) and Consol Energy (CNX) to outperform from market perform at FBR Capital.
• Post Properties (PPS) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• Airgas (ARG) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• Hologic (HOLX) to top pick from sector perform and Sunesis Pharma (SNSS) to outperform from sector perform at RBC Capital.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, ARG, AXP, FISV, HAL, HBAN, HOLX, ITMN, MFE, PXC ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, ARG, AXP, FISV, HAL, HBAN, HOLX, ITMN, MFE, PXC ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) isn't doing much. At the time of this writing, it was down a penny to $16.28. That's off from the 52-week high of $19.64, but significantly above the 52-week low of $11.35. The one-year chart shows how the shares have experienced a rebound as of late.

Yesterday morning, the chain released its Q3 earnings report. According to BusinessWeek, adjusted income from continuing operations of 29 cents per share met the overall projection. Shareholders always want to see a beat, so the performance was somewhat disappointing from that angle.

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters Has Unexciting, but Acceptable, Quarter

American Eagle Outfitters Has Unexciting, but Acceptable, Quarter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aeropostale (ARO), a mall chain with colleagues like American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and Gap (GPS), reported same-store sales for the month of September this week. They seemed relatively decent to me, even though they didn't measure up to the previous year's performance.

Last month, the company saw a 3% expansion in the metric, according to the press release. By comparison, same-store sales rose 19% in September 2009. Hey, don't fret about it. You're not going to generate growth like that all the time; it just doesn't happen. A 3% increase is fine considering the economy. On a year-to-date basis, comps are higher by 4% versus a gain of 12% in last year's similar frame.

Continue reading Is Aeropostale a Buy After the Latest Comps Report?

Is Aeropostale a Buy After the Latest Comps Report? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 09 Oct 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you are looking for clues telling you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

Take-Two Interactive Software Inc (TTWO) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9 as insiders snapped up 427,900 shares of company stock at a market value of $4,093,939. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 64.15% and now own 2.74% of TTWO stock.

Continue reading Insiders Snapping Up Take-Two Interactive, Icahn Enterprises and More

Insiders Snapping Up Take-Two Interactive, Icahn Enterprises and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you are looking for clues telling you which stocks have a good chance of increasing in value, you might want consider watching what insiders are doing. After all, talk is cheap, but when insiders put their own money on the line, you should sit up and take note.

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) topped the insider-buying charts for the week ending July 9th as insiders snapped up 500,000 shares of company stock at a market value of $6,790,000. During the past six months, insiders have increased their overall holdings in the company by 3.91% and now own 8.30% of AEO stock.

Continue reading Insiders Snapping Up American Eagle and Six Flags

Insiders Snapping Up American Eagle and Six Flags originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 02:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Hudson Square upgraded Take-Two (TTWO) to buy from hold, citing the better-than-expected Q3 report and increased guidance.
• Keybanc upgraded The Buckle (BKE) to hold from underweight given the potential for a special dividend in the near term.
• Stifel Nicolaus upgraded K-Sea Transportation (KSP) to hold from sell, citing KA First Reserve's $100M equity investment.
• Gold Fields (GFI) was upgraded to overweight from equal weight at Morgan Stanley.
• James Hardie NV (JHX) was upgraded to neutral from reduce at Nomura.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AEO, BKC, BKE, GRA, KSP, MFE, PSS, TTWO, VPRT ...

Analyst Calls: AEO, BKC, BKE, GRA, KSP, MFE, PSS, TTWO, VPRT ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading American Eagle in the Green After Q2 Earnings

American Eagle in the Green After Q2 Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Aeropostale, Inc. (ARO), a mall retailer whose related companies include American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and The Gap Inc. (GPS), was down this afternoon as the market digested the Q2 numbers that were released yesterday after the bell. With a little over two hours to go before the end of the session, shares of the business were off by 2.5% to $22.64. Volume, so far, was below average.

Perhaps the fact that the volume was relatively slow in coming is a good sign. Maybe the net-income stat is an even better sign. As the press release glowingly reports, earnings per share jumped 21% to 46 cents per share.

Continue reading Aeropostale Down After Q2 News

Aeropostale Down After Q2 News originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I wrote an article

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters Under Pressure: Time to Sell or Not?

American Eagle Outfitters Under Pressure: Time to Sell or Not? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Chasing Value: American Eagle Will Soar Again

Chasing Value: American Eagle Will Soar Again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters Hits 52-Week Low

American Eagle Outfitters Hits 52-Week Low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), a fashion chain that competes for the attention of the mall shopper with American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and Gap (GPS), is selling off in afternoon trading while I write this. My screen showed the shares down $1.72, or 4.2%, to $39.06. Volume, however, wasn't too bad with roughly a few hours to go before the close of the trading session; it was below the norm, but I do expect it to be above average by the time all is said and done. The company reported Q1 stats today, and that is obviously what's driving the bearish sentiment, in part at least.

As can be seen from the one-year chart, the stock has sailed some choppy seas over the last several months. After hitting a 52-week high of over $50, the shares started to slide. Some of that weakness can be attributed to what's happening in the market vis-a-vis the Greece situation.

Continue reading Abercrombie & Fitch: Trade or Stay Away?

Abercrombie & Fitch: Trade or Stay Away? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 May 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• Alcoa Inc. (AA) received an analyst's downgrade ahead of its earnings report due to pricing pressures in 2011.
• American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) disappointing earnings guidance offset sales numbers to depress shares.
• Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) shares hit a new 52-week high after it reported strong Q4 results and offered guidance.
• Constellation Brands Inc. (STZ) posted a narrower net loss for Q4 and offered lower-than-expected guidance.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: Target, Pier 1, Monsanto, Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond

Earnings Highlights: Target, Pier 1, Monsanto, Family Dollar, Bed Bath & Beyond originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 10 Apr 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading American Eagle Outfitters Issues Disappointing Guidance

American Eagle Outfitters Issues Disappointing Guidance originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Apr 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Most of this past week the stock market was erratic. News from Asian and American Markets was generally positive, sending the indexes higher, until unsettling news from the European Union let the air out of the tires, resulting in 100 point swings of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which ended Friday up about 50 points for the week at 10,850.36.

Each day started upbeat and then we would hear about Greek debt, bonds coming due, Germany pushing for IMF participation in any plan to help Greece. Finally when this looked to be settled, we then got news of economic turmoil in Portugal. This activity stimulated me to write the following recent commentary:

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Retail Sales and Investors

Sunday Funnies: Retail Sales and Investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.