Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 93,424 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO – Get Rating) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,066,332 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,424 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $14,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 178,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 15,851 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 831 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 388,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,425,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 68,744 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.34% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO stock opened at $11.55 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $13.18 and its 200 day moving average is $14.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.52. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $9.46 and a one year high of $17.09.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 1st. The apparel retailer reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.07. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 2.51% and a return on equity of 13.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 5th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 64.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, May 8th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 2,967 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.56, for a total transaction of $40,232.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 172,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,332,360.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 2,967 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.56, for a total transaction of $40,232.52. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 172,003 shares in the company, valued at $2,332,360.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Michael R. Rempell sold 18,997 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.65, for a total transaction of $278,306.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 172,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,519,843.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,202 shares of company stock worth $599,822. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company Profile

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American Eagle Outfitters, Inc is a multi-brand specialty retailer, which offers an assortment of apparel and accessories for men and women under the American Eagle Outfitters brand, and intimates, apparel and personal care products for women under the Aerie brand. The firm operates stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom.