Convergence Investment Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 10,908 American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,908 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEO. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 49,292 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 27,500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,085,016 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,242,000 after purchasing an additional 155,017 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth $193,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 235,820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,917,000 after buying an additional 5,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 25.4% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 37,455 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 7,583 shares in the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

AEO opened at $24.39 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.10. The company has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 1 year low of $9.95 and a 1 year high of $26.44.

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

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total value of $46,917.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 16,971 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.53, for a total transaction of $433,269.63. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,782,468.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938. 7.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of 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 shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.27.

American Eagle Outfitters 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.