American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Receives $21.27 Average Target Price from Analysts

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.27.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AEO shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total transaction of $180,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total transaction of $180,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total transaction of $46,917.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,953 shares of company stock worth $2,268,075. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 299.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,207 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 905 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 6,980.0% during the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO opened at $22.65 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.71. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $9.95 and a 1-year high of $26.44. The stock has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to buyback 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.