American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Sets New 1-Year Low – Time to Sell?

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $15.36 and last traded at $15.54, with a volume of 7493200 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEO. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Raymond James assumed coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.10.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $17.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.54.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 408.6% during the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 9,272 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter valued at about $16,861,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 131.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,371 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 17,815 shares during the period. Leuthold Group LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,000,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 264.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 257,914 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,148,000 after purchasing an additional 187,196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

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.