American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Reaches New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $21.00 to $18.00. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the stock. American Eagle Outfitters traded as low as $15.36 and last traded at $15.54, with a volume of 7493200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.23.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. 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 note on Friday, December 6th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at $141,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at $141,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 13.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.52.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 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.