Comerica Bank Cuts Stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. $AEO

Key Points

• Comerica Bank has reduced its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 39.8%, selling 41,489 shares during the first quarter, with current holdings worth approximately $731,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for American Eagle, with one rating it as a buy, eight as hold, and three as sell; the average target price is currently $13.94.
• In its latest earnings report, American Eagle reported earnings per share of $0.45, surpassing estimates, but its revenue showed a decline of 0.6% year-over-year.

Comerica Bank lowered its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) by 39.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,871 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 41,489 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,119,450 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $35,331,000 after purchasing an additional 197,612 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 441,323 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $7,357,000 after buying an additional 85,775 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 1,354,447 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $22,579,000 after buying an additional 553,372 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 172,981 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 63,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth $777,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.12, for a total value of $724,800.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 9,002 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.11, for a total value of $163,026.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 130,821 shares of company stock valued at $2,369,336. Insiders own 8.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AEO shares. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $12.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and set a $10.00 price objective (down from $11.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Cfra Research cut American Eagle Outfitters from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $9.00 to $14.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $13.94.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 1.3%

AEO stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $19.50. The company had a trading volume of 5,750,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,512,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 0.71. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.27 and a 52 week high of $22.63. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $12.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.55. The company has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75 and a beta of 1.45.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 3rd. The apparel retailer reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.25. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.67% and a net margin of 3.74%.The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.