Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 110,259 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,808,036 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 110,259 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 1.46% of American Eagle Outfitters worth $46,810,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEO. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 36.5% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 120,434 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 32,197 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2,239.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 2,573 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in American Eagle Outfitters by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 524,879 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $8,750,000 after acquiring an additional 10,538 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,916 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Polaris Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,040,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.30% of the company's stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Down 4.4 %

AEO stock traded down $0.64 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $13.76. The company had a trading volume of 3,878,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,137,524. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.64 and a 52 week high of $26.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.62.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.30 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 4.28% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm's revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. Analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. American Eagle Outfitters's dividend payout ratio is currently 42.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEO shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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.