American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Holdings Raised by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,064,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 112,696 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.54% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $22,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 27,500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 5.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,242,000 after acquiring an additional 155,017 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth about $193,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.3% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 235,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,917,000 after acquiring an additional 5,242 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 25.4% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,455 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 7,583 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.18.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $23.69 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.21. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.95 and a 52-week high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase 30,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 232,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $652,010.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at $5,585,416.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938 in the last three months. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.