Brokerages Set American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Price Target at $21.75

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) have earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twelve have assigned a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $21.75.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on AEO. Bank of America increased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $23.00 price target on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.21, for a total transaction of $49,694.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.66, for a total transaction of $48,651.36. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 valued at $485,166,000 after buying an additional 249,158 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,752,288 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $230,801,000 after buying an additional 77,758 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.1% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,649,952 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $113,781,000 after acquiring an additional 320,750 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,606,362 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 39,334 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,000,419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $158,231,000 after acquiring an additional 680,332 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 0.9%

AEO stock opened at $17.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.39. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1 year low of $9.27 and a 1 year high of $28.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.13. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 3.49%.The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.64%.

About American Eagle Outfitters

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.