Raymond James Initiates Coverage on American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO)

Raymond James began coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a market perform rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 0.9 %

AEO stock opened at $17.19 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters has a twelve month low of $16.88 and a twelve month high of $26.44. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.69, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.24.

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. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total value of $20,039,979.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,771,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were 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. Insiders sold a total of 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter worth $108,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth $140,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.