American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded at 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 Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James initiated coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered 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 note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $17.16 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $17.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $15.36 and a 52-week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,209 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,300 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 14,120 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,668 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 135,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 17,042 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.