Convergence Investment Partners LLC Makes New Investment in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,908 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,608.3% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,665 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 2,509 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at about $144,000. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. StockNews.com lowered American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.27.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO opened at $24.39 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.10. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.95 and a twelve month high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 3.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback 30,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938 in the last three months. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

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.