More from Dividend.com
Referenced Stocks

Wells Fargo Boosts Rating, Target, and Estimates for American Eagle; Confident New Management Will Spur Growth (AEO)

By Dividend.com,  October 18, 2012, 10:43:15 AM EDT

Teen clothing retailer American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) on Thursday caught a big upgrade from analysts at Wells Fargo.

The firm raised its rating on AEO from "Market Perform" to "Outperform" and lifted its price target range from $21-22 to $26-$27. That new target suggests up to a 20% upside to the stock's Monday closing price of $22.45.

A Wells Fargo analyst commented, "…we believe that the perspective of the new management team, who has multi-channel experience at a global brand, will enhance AEO's business and the initial evidence has given us more confidence in that. A combination of improved product, marketing, inventory and real estate strategies could accelerate AEO's sales growth to high single digits (after flattish for a number of years). Combined with faster growth in high-margin businesses (outlet & ecommerce), and inventory discipline, the bottom line could grow double digits."

Accordingly, the firm also lifted its earnings estimates for the company through 2013.

American Eagle Outfitters shares rose 23 cents, or +1%, in morning trading Thursday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) have a 1.96% dividend yield, based on last night's closing stock price of $22.45. The stock has technical support in the $19-$20 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $24-$26 price levels.

American Eagle Outfitters ( AEO ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks , as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here .




The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.


This article appears in: Investing, Stocks

Referenced Stocks: AEO



Latest News Video

Afghan Parliament Blocks Landmark Women's Rights Bill
Afghan Parliament Blocks Landmark W...


Sign-in
Existing NASDAQ.com member? Log in here.

By signing into to the site using any of the third-party services above, you agree to NASDAQ.com's Terms of Use.

From Our Trusted News Source





Most Active by Volume:

Company Last Sale Change Net / %
BAC $ 13.43 0.07  0.52%
CSCO $ 24.24 0.35  1.48%
MSFT $ 34.87 0.79  2.32%
F $ 15.08 0.44  3.01%
ARUN $ 13.10 4.51  25.61%
SIRI $ 3.50 0.05  1.45%
GE $ 23.46 0.19  0.82%
S $ 7.32 0.04  0.55%