American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $21.27.

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

NYSE:AEO opened at $22.37 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $23.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.76. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $9.95 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The company has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 3.23%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total value of $180,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,808.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 96,590 shares of company stock worth $2,221,028. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,990.1% during the second quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,321,911 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,201,000 after acquiring an additional 3,162,976 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 119,073.0% during the first quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,752,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $36,999,000 after acquiring an additional 2,750,586 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,050.5% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,681,465 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $56,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,448,400 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 15.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 17,571,205 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $170,967,000 after acquiring an additional 2,369,726 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 135.2% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,981,091 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,083,000 after acquiring an additional 1,713,420 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.