Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. $AEO

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,149,243 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 354,791 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $310,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at about $407,000. XTX Topco Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 59.6% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 108,644 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 40,563 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $1,426,000. Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,165,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 170.8% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 41,165 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 25,962 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.66, for a total value of $48,651.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 243,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.30, for a total transaction of $5,906,042.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 191,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,659,549.30. The trade was a 55.90% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 246,839 shares of company stock worth $6,004,388 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.70% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:AEO opened at $24.57 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.37. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $28.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 1.63. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.42.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.32 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.90%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 43.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $11.00 to $18.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock 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 raised their price objective for the company from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $23.00 price target on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.45.

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.