American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Barclays cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $17.00 to $15.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. William Blair reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.55.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

NYSE AEO opened at $18.11 on Thursday. American Eagle Outfitters has a twelve month low of $14.06 and a twelve month high of $28.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 9.24, a P/E/G ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.04.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The apparel retailer reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.57. The firm had revenue of $1.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.37 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 23.63% and a net margin of 5.91%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director David Sable sold 5,779 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $99,572.17. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,477.63. This trade represents a 9.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Spiegel sold 3,617 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.68, for a total value of $63,948.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,013 shares of company stock worth $229,350. 8.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter valued at $458,632,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,261,614 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $154,663,000 after acquiring an additional 509,326 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 162.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 6,336,392 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $105,818,000 after acquiring an additional 3,926,230 shares during the period. Nykredit A S bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at about $46,023,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at about $27,637,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on apparel, accessories and personal-care products. The company operates primarily through the American Eagle and Aerie brands, offering casual clothing, denim, footwear and accessories, as well as intimates, activewear and lifestyle products.

American Eagle serves teenagers and young adults, while Aerie focuses on intimates, activewear and loungewear. The company sells its products through a network of retail stores, brand websites and other digital channels in the United States and internationally.