Raymond James & Associates Purchases 26,325 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 161.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,645 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,325 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,608.3% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,665 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $105,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $144,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $187,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEO has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One 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 company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $22.52 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $23.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.92. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.59. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.95 and a fifty-two week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that authorizes the company to buyback 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total value of $180,740.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total transaction of $180,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

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.