American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AEO. Raymond James began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $14.35 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $14.11 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.86.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its 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 analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bridgewater Associates LP grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 33.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 272,833 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,548,000 after acquiring an additional 67,627 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 336,362 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,607,000 after purchasing an additional 38,099 shares during the period. TCM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 39,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $657,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth $1,832,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 128.6% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 5,926 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 3,334 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.