American Eagle Outfitters In Deal With Bank Of America For $200 Mln Share Repurchase; Stock Up

(RTTNews) - Specialty retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) announced Monday that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement (ASR) with Bank of America, N.A. to repurchase $200 million of its common stock.

In pre-market activity on the NYSE, American Eagle Outfitters were gaining around 8.3 percent to trade at $11.98.

The share buyback program equates to around 18.1 million shares, at the closing price on March 14. It represents approximately 9.5% of the company's fully diluted outstanding stock.

The company intends to complete the ASR in connection with its existing share repurchase authorization of 68.5 million shares.

Jay Schottenstein, AEO's Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to announce an accelerated share repurchase program, which reflects our strong capital position and confidence in our long-term strategic growth plan. This program, combined with our quarterly cash dividend, underscores our commitment to a balanced approach to capital allocation and delivering strong returns..."