41,569 Shares in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Bought by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 41,569 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $931,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.8% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,749,561 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $218,293,000 after purchasing an additional 268,326 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter valued at $119,691,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 18.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,472,073 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,263,000 after acquiring an additional 684,420 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 40.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,370,626 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $97,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,693 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% during the second quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $64,727,000 after purchasing an additional 865,355 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,507,894.04. This represents a 36.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,050,702 shares of company stock worth $21,148,718 over the last three months. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $17.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.36. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 1-year low of $16.88 and a 1-year high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEO. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.40.

About American Eagle Outfitters

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.