Ieq Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 43,020 American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 43,020 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $717,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $141,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Insider Activity

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $13.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $15.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.31 and a 12-month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

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.