Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 49,452 American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 49,452 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,046,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Castleview Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 1,608.3% in the third quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 2,665 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 2,509 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 54.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,984 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the fourth quarter valued at about $144,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of AEO stock traded down $0.57 on Tuesday, hitting $24.26. The stock had a trading volume of 3,393,351 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,526,957. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.75 and its 200-day moving average is $21.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.59. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.95 and a 52-week high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 3.23% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.71 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.14%.

American Eagle Outfitters announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 1st that permits the company to repurchase 30,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their target price on American Eagle Outfitters from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on American Eagle Outfitters from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, American Eagle Outfitters currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total value of $180,740.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares in the company, valued at $445,808.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO James H. Keefer, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.82, for a total value of $180,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 17,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $445,808.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 1,908 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.59, for a total transaction of $46,917.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 72,319 shares of company stock valued at $1,732,938 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 7.50% of the company’s stock.

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.