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Is American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) Stock Undervalued Right Now?

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Here at Zacks, we focus on our proven ranking system, which places an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, to find winning stocks. But we also understand that investors develop their own strategies, so we are constantly looking at the latest trends in value, growth, and momentum to find strong companies for our readers.

Considering these trends, value investing is clearly one of the most preferred ways to find strong stocks in any type of market. Value investors use tried-and-true metrics and fundamental analysis to find companies that they believe are undervalued at their current share price levels.

Zacks has developed the innovative Style Scores system to highlight stocks with specific traits. For example, value investors will be interested in stocks with great grades in the "Value" category. When paired with a high Zacks Rank, "A" grades in the Value category are among the strongest value stocks on the market today.

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) is a stock many investors are watching right now. AEO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), as well as a Value grade of A. The stock is trading with P/E ratio of 11.56 right now. For comparison, its industry sports an average P/E of 16.12. Over the past 52 weeks, AEO's Forward P/E has been as high as 16.30 and as low as 10.58, with a median of 13.56.

Investors will also notice that AEO has a PEG ratio of 0.98. This popular figure is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also considers a company's expected EPS growth rate. AEO's industry has an average PEG of 1.26 right now. AEO's PEG has been as high as 1.69 and as low as 0.58, with a median of 0.90, all within the past year.

Another notable valuation metric for AEO is its P/B ratio of 2.40. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. This stock's P/B looks attractive against its industry's average P/B of 4.76. Over the past year, AEO's P/B has been as high as 2.98 and as low as 1.71, with a median of 2.34.

Finally, we should also recognize that AEO has a P/CF ratio of 9.56. This figure highlights a company's operating cash flow and can be used to find firms that are undervalued when considering their impressive cash outlook. AEO's current P/CF looks attractive when compared to its industry's average P/CF of 14.05. Over the past 52 weeks, AEO's P/CF has been as high as 12.90 and as low as 6.56, with a median of 9.16.

These are only a few of the key metrics included in American Eagle Outfitters's strong Value grade, but they help show that the stock is likely undervalued right now. When factoring in the strength of its earnings outlook, AEO looks like an impressive value stock at the moment.


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