Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New $1.80 Million Investment in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 85,276 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,804,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEO. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 43,271 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 5,816 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio lifted its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 135.2% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 60,200 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 34,600 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth $1,966,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth $1,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Citigroup raised their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.27.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Down 2.2 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $22.63 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $23.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.98. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.59. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.95 and a 52-week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 3.23%. American Eagle Outfitters’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to buyback 30,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 232,459 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,881,639. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 26,440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.66, for a total transaction of $652,010.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 226,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,585,416.02. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total value of $420,000.00. Following 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938. 7.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.