Bailard Inc. Purchases 21,700 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 113.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 40,800 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,700 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth about $541,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 1,944 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 1,673.7% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 62,134 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 58,631 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 70,874 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,181,000 after acquiring an additional 5,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 835.2% during the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 140,130 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,336,000 after acquiring an additional 125,146 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 6.3 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $12.26 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.53. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a twelve month low of $12.22 and a twelve month high of $26.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.22.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.74%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

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 transaction of $48,043.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 7.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEO has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised American Eagle Outfitters from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $20.44.

American Eagle Outfitters Company 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.