American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

AEO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. William Blair reissued a “buy” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.91.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $17.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $17.25 and its 200 day moving average is $19.06. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $11.17 and a 1-year high of $28.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 1.32.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.18 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) earnings per share. Research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 30.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,892 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.77, for a total value of $48,498.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 5,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $99,572.17. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,477.63. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,563 shares of company stock worth $196,599 over the last 90 days. 8.95% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 177.2% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,774 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 31.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 75.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.