American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Stock Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Brokerages

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.55.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEO. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $31.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 10th.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Noel Spiegel sold 3,617 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.68, for a total value of $63,948.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 3,617 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total transaction of $65,829.40. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 8.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth about $44,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 31.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at about $57,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $17.90 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $16.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $17.13. American Eagle Outfitters has a one year low of $14.10 and a one year high of $28.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 9.13, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The apparel retailer reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.57. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $0.1250 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.51%.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells apparel, accessories and personal-care products. The company serves teens and young adults through its American Eagle brand, which offers casual clothing including jeans, tops, outerwear, underwear and related accessories.

American Eagle Outfitters also operates Aerie, a lifestyle brand focused on intimates, activewear, swimwear, loungewear and apparel, as well as OFFLINE by Aerie, which emphasizes active and leisure clothing.