Morgan Stanley Downgrades American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) to Equal Weight

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $17.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, down from their previous price target of $19.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.10% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James started coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group cut their target price on 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of AEO stock opened at $16.02 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.09. The company has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $15.36 and a 12-month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business 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% 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 forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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.