American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Rating Increased 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 released on Tuesday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Raymond James initiated coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of AEO opened at $13.34 on Tuesday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $13.31 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.45.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly 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. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,223,953 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $170,431,000 after purchasing an additional 413,193 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,933,628 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $165,594,000 after acquiring an additional 184,067 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,505,340 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $91,774,000 after acquiring an additional 472,683 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at about $119,691,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,370,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $97,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,693 shares during the period. 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.