First Trust Advisors LP Lowers Stock Holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. $AEO

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 36.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 69,369 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEO. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 151.0% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 2,315 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 8,432.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,389 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 2,361 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 2,892 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.78, for a total value of $48,527.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 5,779 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total value of $99,572.17. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $921,477.63. This represents a 9.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,563 shares of company stock worth $196,599. 8.95% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings cut American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.91.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE AEO opened at $17.98 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $17.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 1.55. The company has a market cap of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.32. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $12.05 and a one year high of $28.46.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The company had revenue of $1.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.29) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 24th. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 30.86%.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.