Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 4,172,556 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Congress Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) by 99.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,230 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 4,172,556 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 937 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 258.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,045 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,463 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company's stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 7.5%

AEO stock traded down $0.75 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.32. 9,811,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,724,626. The firm's 50 day moving average is $10.90 and its 200 day moving average is $13.66. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.28 and a twelve month high of $22.83. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.51.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported ($0.29) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.25) by ($0.04). American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The firm had revenue of $1.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cfra Research lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $15.00 to $11.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.70.

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.