American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Raised to “Buy” 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 issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.44.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $13.08 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $15.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.38. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12 month low of $13.03 and a 12 month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% during the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 105,949 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,766,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. TCM Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 39,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.