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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James started coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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 dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at about $45,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at about $141,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at approximately $141,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $16.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.09 billion, a PE ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.44. American Eagle Outfitters has a one year low of $15.36 and a one year high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

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.