American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Shares Acquired by Principal Securities Inc.

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 2,239.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $43,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 524,879 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $8,750,000 after purchasing an additional 10,538 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,040,000. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,861 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth approximately $378,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO opened at $13.08 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.03 and a fifty-two week high of $26.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.38. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53.

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. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on AEO shares. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group reduced their price target 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $20.44.

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 that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Eagle Outfitters 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.