American Eagle up 4 percent after CEO buys 500.000 dollars’ worth of stock

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO)´s Executive Chairman and Interim CEO Jay Schottenstein has revealed he has just purchased 500,000 dollars’ worth of shares of stock at 15.74 dollars per share.

Schottenstein has acquired the shares in the open market through SEI Inc., a family holding company, according to a Form 4 SEC filing, bringing the trust’s stake up to just over 3.5 million shares.

The transaction comes just days after the apparel and accessories retailer recently reported second-quarter earnings of 0.17 dollars, 0.03 dollars ahead analysts estimate. Revenue also jumped, by12.2 percent year over year to 797.43 million dollars, beating estimates by 27.87 million dollars.

As recalls ‘Forbes’, American Eagle Outfitters’ stock has been down almost 10 percent since it released its second quarter figures. However, many in the trade see Schottenstein´s shares buy as an indication that top level management was very much confident in the company’s growth potential.

On the back of this shares buy, the stock price rose by 4 percent, indicating improved sentiment, highlights ‘Forbes’.

After a deep dive in 2014, American Eagle Outfitters has managed to post several consecutive quarters of healthy turnaround, heavily based on operational improvements that have driven margins significantly higher.