American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

AEO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 7.3 %

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $17.20 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.41. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $15.36 and a 52-week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $931,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,731,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,680,000. Dupree Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,146,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth about $1,557,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.