Needham & Company LLC Begins Coverage on American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO)

Equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) in a research note issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on AEO. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $20.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $24.00 to $19.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $21.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

AEO stock opened at $16.12 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $21.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.99. American Eagle Outfitters has a 1 year low of $9.27 and a 1 year high of $28.46. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 14.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 16.76% and a net margin of 3.49%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 1,896 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.66, for a total value of $48,651.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.21, for a total transaction of $49,694.16. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Eagle Outfitters

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,398,401 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $485,166,000 after buying an additional 249,158 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,752,288 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $230,801,000 after buying an additional 77,758 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 6,649,952 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $113,781,000 after buying an additional 320,750 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,606,362 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $174,210,000 after acquiring an additional 39,334 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,000,419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $158,231,000 after acquiring an additional 680,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.