Verity Asset Management Inc. Invests $470,000 in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 20,997 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $470,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEO. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 20.2% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 299,133 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,715,000 after buying an additional 50,212 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp raised its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1.3% during the first quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 162,510 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,191,000 after buying an additional 2,149 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters in the 1st quarter worth $4,464,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 397.3% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,948 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 27,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.8% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 107,191 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,892 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEO has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:AEO opened at $19.09 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.25. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.92 and a 12-month high of $26.44. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.52.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.01. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.58% and a return on equity of 20.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at $35,507,894.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $49,061.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Jay L. Schottenstein sold 999,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.04, for a total transaction of $20,039,979.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,771,851 shares in the company, valued at $35,507,894.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,050,702 shares of company stock valued at $21,148,718. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by 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.