American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO – Get Free Report) is one of 285 publicly-traded companies in the “Specialty Retail” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare American Eagle Outfitters to similar businesses based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, risk, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends.
Dividends
American Eagle Outfitters pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. American Eagle Outfitters pays out 25.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.1% and pay out 35.5% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. American Eagle Outfitters has raised its dividend for 2 consecutive years. American Eagle Outfitters is clearly a better dividend stock than its peers, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Profitability
This table compares American Eagle Outfitters and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| American Eagle Outfitters | 5.91% | 23.63% | 9.59% |
| American Eagle Outfitters Competitors | -3.62% | -13.67% | 3.21% |
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares American Eagle Outfitters and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Net Income | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| American Eagle Outfitters | $5.50 billion | $191.98 million | 10.17 |
| American Eagle Outfitters Competitors | $7.06 billion | $386.47 million | 29.92 |
American Eagle Outfitters’ peers have higher revenue and earnings than American Eagle Outfitters. American Eagle Outfitters is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of current ratings for American Eagle Outfitters and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| American Eagle Outfitters | 1 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2.07 |
| American Eagle Outfitters Competitors | 3675 | 15593 | 21618 | 590 | 2.46 |
American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus price target of $19.55, suggesting a potential downside of 1.92%. As a group, “Specialty Retail” companies have a potential upside of 7.38%. Given American Eagle Outfitters’ peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe American Eagle Outfitters has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.
Volatility & Risk
American Eagle Outfitters has a beta of 1.34, meaning that its stock price is 34% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, American Eagle Outfitters’ peers have a beta of 1.91, meaning that their average stock price is 91% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Institutional & Insider Ownership
97.3% of American Eagle Outfitters shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.9% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by institutional investors. 8.9% of American Eagle Outfitters shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of shares of all “Specialty Retail” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Summary
American Eagle Outfitters peers beat American Eagle Outfitters on 9 of the 15 factors compared.
American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile
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. It also offers menswear products under the Todd Snyder New York brand; and fashion clothing and accessories under the Unsubscribed brand. The company sells its products through own and licensed retail stores; concession-based shops-within-shops; and digital channels, such as www.ae.com, www.aerie.com, www.toddsnyder.com, and www.unsubscribed.com. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Receive News & Ratings for American Eagle Outfitters Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for American Eagle Outfitters and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
