American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.36 and last traded at $15.54, with a volume of 7493200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.23.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEO. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. StockNews.com cut American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. UBS Group decreased 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.90.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 3.0 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $17.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.54.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. American Eagle Outfitters's payout ratio is 42.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total value of $49,061.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Investors Research Corp raised its position 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 worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 49,669 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth about $32,000. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 4.3% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 35,395 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,840 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company's stock.

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.