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

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.60.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AEO shares. Raymond James began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at $45,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at about $141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

AEO opened at $16.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1 year low of $15.36 and a 1 year high of $26.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.68 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 42.74%.

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.