Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 129,234 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,154,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of American Eagle Outfitters as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,036 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the last quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 171,943 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,866,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 12,942 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEO. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $10.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup set a $13.00 price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $15.50.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.08. 4,357,406 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,246,753. The stock has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $11.44 and a 200-day moving average of $15.24. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.45 and a 52 week high of $25.15.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.76%.

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.