Cerity Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 39,494 American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Key Points

• Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake of 39,494 shares in American Eagle Outfitters, valued at approximately $459,000, highlighting increasing institutional interest in the retailer.
• American Eagle Outfitters' most recent quarterly earnings report showed a loss of ($0.29) earnings per share, missing expectations, with revenue slightly higher than forecast at $1.09 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, representing a 4.25% dividend yield, with a payout ratio currently at 51.02%.

Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,494 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $459,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of AEO. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,510.1% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,509,057 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $41,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353,225 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth about $35,267,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the first quarter worth about $18,927,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,408.1% during the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,244,008 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $20,738,000 after buying an additional 1,194,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter worth about $17,558,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AEO shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters to $12.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $10.00 to $9.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $14.70.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 4.4%

AEO stock traded up $0.49 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $11.77. The company had a trading volume of 19,597,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,015,894. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $22.83. The stock has a market cap of $2.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $10.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.03.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by ($0.04). American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.73% and a return on equity of 13.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.34 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.02%.

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.