Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 589,331 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. $AEO

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 88.0% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 80,072 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 589,331 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $770,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 41.7% in the second quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,307,326 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $22,196,000 after acquiring an additional 678,536 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 170.8% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 41,165 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 25,962 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 142,328 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 32,305 shares during the period. Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $144,000. Finally, Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. acquired a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 1st quarter worth approximately $531,000. Institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,945 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.95, for a total value of $49,917.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director David M. Sable sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.22, for a total transaction of $96,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 48,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $934,860.80. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 8.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Eagle Outfitters Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $23.11 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.63 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50-day moving average of $17.50 and a 200-day moving average of $14.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 1.44. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $9.27 and a fifty-two week high of $24.66.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 2nd. The apparel retailer reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a return on equity of 13.82% and a net margin of 3.90%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Eagle Outfitters Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $22.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $23.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $18.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised American Eagle Outfitters from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $14.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.10.

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.