Zacks Research Has Bullish Forecast for AEO Q4 Earnings

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) – Zacks Research boosted their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report released on Tuesday, December 16th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the apparel retailer will earn $0.64 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $0.54. Zacks Research currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for American Eagle Outfitters’ current full-year earnings is $1.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for American Eagle Outfitters’ Q2 2027 earnings at $0.48 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $0.45 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $0.65 EPS, Q2 2028 earnings at $0.44 EPS, Q3 2028 earnings at $0.47 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $1.50 EPS.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.90% and a return on equity of 13.82%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share.

AEO has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Wall Street Zen raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $23.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.45.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $27.35 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.58 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $9.27 and a 1-year high of $27.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $18.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.96.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $49,917.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 243,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.30, for a total transaction of $5,906,042.10. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 191,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,659,549.30. This trade represents a 55.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 50.0% in the third quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 1,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 151.0% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.