Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Purchases 5,816 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 43,271 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,816 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 37.6% during the 4th 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. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 84.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 233,065 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,871,000 after buying an additional 106,397 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 596,391 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $9,906,000 after acquiring an additional 145,038 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,729,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 28.5% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,259,598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,532,000 after purchasing an additional 500,555 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 6.3 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $24.39 on Monday. The stock 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 12-month low of $9.95 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total transaction of $180,740.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $445,808.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,881,639. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938. Insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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