Barclays Reaffirms “Equal Weight” Rating for American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO)

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by investment analysts at Barclays in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $17.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $19.00. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.10% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Raymond James began coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $16.02 on Wednesday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1 year low of $15.36 and a 1 year high of $26.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.53.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,749,561 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $218,293,000 after purchasing an additional 268,326 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,370,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $97,858,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,693 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,918,295 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $65,341,000 after purchasing an additional 226,821 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,877,963 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $47,976,000 after purchasing an additional 381,047 shares during the period. 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.