American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded 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 Wednesday.

AEO has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $17.16 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $17.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.39. The stock has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a PEG 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business 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%. The company’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the 4th 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. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.