Analysts Set American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Price Target at $21.00

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

AEO has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 103,514 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,066,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 4.3% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 35,395 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 319.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 11,162 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 8,499 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 66,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $213,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO opened at $14.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a one year low of $14.11 and a one year high of $26.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.86.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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.