Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 202,185 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 67.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 500,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,185 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $8,348,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,496,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,906,000 after buying an additional 281,548 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 41.0% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 239,688 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,367,000 after buying an additional 69,662 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 373,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $8,367,000 after buying an additional 76,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 152.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 205,206 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,595,000 after acquiring an additional 123,850 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AEO shares. Raymond James initiated coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $15.00 target price (down previously from $19.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO opened at $11.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.76, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $13.92 and a 200 day moving average of $17.06. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 1-year low of $10.74 and a 1-year high of $26.25.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is 29.76%.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total transaction of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About American Eagle Outfitters

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.