Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System cut its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,900 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth $931,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,731,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth $2,680,000. Dupree Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,146,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at $1,557,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO stock opened at $14.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.07 and a 1 year high of $26.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $16.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.76.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.49%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In related news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is 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.