American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) Holdings Decreased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 40,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,092,955 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $128,927,000 after purchasing an additional 1,663,569 shares during the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $12,592,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,259,598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $37,532,000 after buying an additional 500,555 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth $4,481,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 70.8% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 404,139 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,713,000 after buying an additional 167,572 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $420,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total value of $652,010.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,319 shares of company stock worth $1,732,938. Corporate insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO opened at $24.82 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 28.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $23.75 and its 200-day moving average is $21.16. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $9.95 and a one year high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.37 earnings per share. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase 30,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 58.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.18.

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.