American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Price Target Raised to $22.00

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $21.50 to $22.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $10.00 price target (down from $11.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $10.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.11.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $18.58 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. American Eagle Outfitters has a 12-month low of $9.27 and a 12-month high of $20.55. The company has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87 and a beta of 1.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.55.

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

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.08%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Janice E. Page sold 26,869 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.04, for a total value of $484,716.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 90,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,630,509.32. The trade was a 22.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total transaction of $96,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 48,640 shares in the company, valued at $934,860.80. This represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 138,766 shares of company stock valued at $2,515,354 over the last three months. 8.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AEO. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth $36,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 8,432.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 2,361 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,655.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,475 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares during the period. Finally, Wexford Capital LP bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.