American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $14.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a twelve month low of $14.11 and a twelve month high of $26.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.86.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.