Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,534 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,267 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $659,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Research Corp raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investors Research Corp now owns 46,239 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 49,669 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 35,395 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 20,840 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEO. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com cut American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.60.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

NYSE:AEO opened at $16.07 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $15.36 and a one year high of $26.44. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.42.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

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.