American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on AEO. Barclays cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 3.8%

AEO opened at $17.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $20.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.91. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $28.46.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.74 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 3.49%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.21, for a total value of $49,694.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.66, for a total value of $48,651.36. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $485,166,000 after acquiring an additional 249,158 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,752,288 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $230,801,000 after acquiring an additional 77,758 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,649,952 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $113,781,000 after acquiring an additional 320,750 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,606,362 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 39,334 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,000,419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $158,231,000 after buying an additional 680,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.