UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Stock

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $21.50 to $22.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Monday, July 28th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.11.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE AEO traded up $0.41 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $17.91. The company had a trading volume of 352,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,948,221. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.06 and its 200 day moving average is $13.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.71. American Eagle Outfitters has a fifty-two week low of $9.27 and a fifty-two week high of $20.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.25. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 3.74%.The business had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.39 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 54,950 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.14, for a total value of $996,793.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 221,107 shares in the company, valued at $4,010,880.98. This trade represents a 19.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 9,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total value of $163,026.22. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 138,766 shares of company stock worth $2,515,354. 8.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AEO. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 4.8% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,855 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 57,817 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 731 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,282 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 119,074 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 845 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 48,708 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $833,000 after acquiring an additional 879 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.