American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

AEO has been the topic of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO opened at $16.73 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1-year low of $16.06 and a 1-year high of $26.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $17.87 and a 200 day moving average of $19.67.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 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 analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’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, equities analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total value of $49,061.67. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,107,933 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,034,000 after buying an additional 1,936,938 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% in the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $64,727,000 after buying an additional 865,355 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter worth about $16,861,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 18.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,472,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,263,000 after acquiring an additional 684,420 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.