American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday.

AEO has been the topic of several other research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price target (down previously from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.10.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AEO stock opened at $16.49 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.64. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $16.06 and a 52-week high of $26.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total value of $49,061.67. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,107,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,938 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $64,727,000 after purchasing an additional 865,355 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth $16,861,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 18.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,472,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,263,000 after purchasing an additional 684,420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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.