American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Shares Sold by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 67,468 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 896 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $1,428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEO. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 6,980.0% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,416 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth $144,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.18.

Insider Activity

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $652,010.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 16,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $433,269.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,468.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’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 value of $652,010.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,319 shares of company stock worth $1,312,938. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $23.87 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.59. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 1-year low of $9.95 and a 1-year high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.11. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 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, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.