Analysts Set American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) PT at $22.40

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.40.

AEO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of 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.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of AEO opened at $16.69 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $16.20 and a 52-week high of $26.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.03.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total transaction of $405,976.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,356 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,406.24. This represents a 31.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,703 shares of company stock worth $1,108,738. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,107,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,936,938 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 179.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,691,474 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $53,722,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726,982 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $64,727,000 after purchasing an additional 865,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at approximately $16,861,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.