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

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

AEO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,577 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.93, for a total transaction of $53,936.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 161.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 42,645 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $902,000 after buying an additional 26,325 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth about $1,629,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth about $1,966,000. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 135.2% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 60,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 34,600 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of AEO opened at $21.32 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $14.39 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $20.67 and a 200-day moving average of $22.39.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.15 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.12% and a return on equity of 19.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 12th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.05%.

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.