Prudential Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 67.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 500,754 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,185 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $8,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEO. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% during the fourth 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. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 13,036 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $217,000 after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 171.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,548 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Bridge City Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bridge City Capital LLC now owns 171,943 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 1,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 12,942 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $11.42 on Friday. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $10.74 and a fifty-two week high of $26.25. The company has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $13.92 and a 200 day moving average of $17.06.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 16th. The shares were 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 is available through the SEC website. 7.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lowered their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $16.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $10.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

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.