American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.44.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on AEO. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

AEO stock opened at $12.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $15.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.22. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $12.22 and a 1-year high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.