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

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) shares gapped down before the market opened 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.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $15.00 price target (down from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup set a $13.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

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

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.34, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.58%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.74%.

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.