American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $22.40.

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEO. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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 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. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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 report on Thursday, December 5th.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO traded down $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $16.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,347,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,695,019. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.07. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $16.20 and a 12-month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 30,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.79, for a total value of $653,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 200,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,304.33. The trade was a 13.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total value of $405,976.80. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,406.24. This represents a 31.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,703 shares of company stock valued at $1,108,738. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $140,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.