American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Stock Has Average Price Target of $19.55

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.55.

Several research analysts recently commented on AEO shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Bank of America initiated coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, August 14th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $16.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

AEO stock opened at $19.58 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $28.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.28.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The apparel retailer reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.91% and a return on equity of 23.63%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.45 EPS. Analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 2.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 28th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $0.1250 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary McMillan sold 3,617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.20, for a total value of $65,829.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel Spiegel sold 3,617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.68, for a total transaction of $63,948.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 36,790 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 31.9% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.4% in the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 318,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 52.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,329 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 1,491 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells apparel, accessories and personal-care products. The company serves teens and young adults through its American Eagle brand, which offers casual clothing including jeans, tops, outerwear, underwear and related accessories.

American Eagle Outfitters also operates Aerie, a lifestyle brand focused on intimates, activewear, swimwear, loungewear and apparel, as well as OFFLINE by Aerie, which emphasizes active and leisure clothing.