Polaris Capital Management LLC Invests $1.04 Million in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Polaris Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 62,400 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,040,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Stoneridge Investment Partners LLC now owns 26,861 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 4,366 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $378,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $242,000. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth approximately $784,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on AEO. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of AEO stock traded down $0.05 on Friday, reaching $14.28. 1,434,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,080,154. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a one year low of $14.07 and a one year high of $26.44. The company has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.46 and a 200-day moving average of $18.86.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 4.28%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.49 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

American Eagle Outfitters 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.