Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 226,821 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,918,295 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 226,821 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.52% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $65,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEO. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the third quarter worth approximately $119,691,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,107,933 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $62,034,000 after acquiring an additional 1,936,938 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 36.4% during the 2nd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 3,242,838 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $64,727,000 after purchasing an additional 865,355 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the second quarter worth $16,861,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 18.1% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,472,073 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $89,263,000 after purchasing an additional 684,420 shares during the last quarter. 97.33% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AEO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down previously from $27.00) on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Raymond James began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.40.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of AEO traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.69. 9,915,507 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,716,323. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $16.20 and a fifty-two week high of $26.44. The company has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. The firm's fifty day moving average is $18.77 and its 200 day moving average is $20.02.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The company's revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 24th. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.04, for a total value of $405,976.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,356 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,406.24. This trade represents a 31.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total value of $49,061.67. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,703 shares of company stock worth $1,108,738 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

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.