American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.44.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of AEO traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,343,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,638,223. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53. The company's 50 day moving average price is $15.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.15. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $11.66 and a 52 week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. American Eagle Outfitters's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters's payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Investors Research Corp grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 105,949 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. TCM Advisors LLC grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 39,400 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $657,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 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.