American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James initiated coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.90.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $15.96 on Tuesday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $15.36 and a 1-year high of $26.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.64, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53. The company 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) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $141,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at about $147,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently 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.