American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.27.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $652,010.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,585,416.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 232,459 shares in the company, valued at $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 96,590 shares of company stock valued at $2,221,028 in the last ninety days. 7.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 299.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 6,980.0% during the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $22.37 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1 year low of $9.95 and a 1 year high of $26.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.76. The company has a market cap of $4.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. American Eagle Outfitters’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.37 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is 58.14%.

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.