American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• American Eagle Outfitters has been upgraded from a "hold" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a positive outlook from analysts.
• Despite the upgrade, several other firms have varied ratings, with Barclays giving an "underweight" rating and UBS increasing its price target to $21.50 with a "buy" rating.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting an EPS of $0.45 compared to a consensus estimate of $0.20, although revenue was down 0.6% year-over-year.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on AEO. Morgan Stanley set a $10.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $10.00 price objective (down previously from $11.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Monday, August 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating and issued a $9.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $21.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $14.72.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $19.72. 10,413,757 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,757,040. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.81. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52-week low of $9.27 and a 52-week high of $22.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 1.45.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total value of $96,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 48,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $934,860.80. This represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total transaction of $724,800.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 135,821 shares of company stock worth $2,465,436 over the last ninety days. 8.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 380.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 151.0% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 2,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 4,173 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 1,165 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.