American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group reduced 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 research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $15.00 to $16.00 in a report on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $17.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $17.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.36. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $15.36 and a 12-month 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 available through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 131.4% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,371 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 17,815 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 264.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 257,914 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 187,196 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 13.0% in the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 76,056 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,518,000 after purchasing an additional 8,740 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 6.9% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 406,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 26,271 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,164,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.