Barclays Raises American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Price Target to $32.00

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $31.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $22.18.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of AEO opened at $24.82 on Monday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $9.95 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $23.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.16.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total transaction of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were 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 owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at $445,808.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total transaction of $46,917.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,453,599 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $339,734,000 after buying an additional 60,418 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,003,990 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $232,846,000 after acquiring an additional 284,965 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,092,955 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $128,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,569 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $51,242,000 after purchasing an additional 155,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,886,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $61,081,000 after purchasing an additional 44,375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.