American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $19.00 to $15.00. The stock had previously closed at $11.45, but opened at $10.99. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the stock. American Eagle Outfitters shares last traded at $11.47, with a volume of 1,386,209 shares traded.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup set a $13.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $15.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% in the third quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after buying an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 105,949 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,766,000 after buying an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. TCM Advisors LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. TCM Advisors LLC now owns 39,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 4.6 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a PE ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

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.