American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Price Target Raised to $32.00

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) had its price target hoisted by Barclays from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised American Eagle Outfitters from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $22.18.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

NYSE:AEO opened at $23.69 on Monday. American Eagle Outfitters has a 52 week low of $9.95 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.21. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,585,416.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 126.2% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 27,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,242,000 after buying an additional 155,017 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at $193,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.3% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 235,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after buying an additional 5,242 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 25.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,455 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 7,583 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is 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.