Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 15,038 Shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 688,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,038 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $14,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter valued at about $931,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,731,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,680,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in American Eagle Outfitters by 165.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,936,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the 2nd quarter valued at $16,861,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 2nd. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Eagle Outfitters has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director David M. Sable sold 18,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 31.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,703 shares of company stock worth $1,108,738. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock opened at $16.69 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.51. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 12 month low of $16.20 and a 12 month high of $26.44.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The apparel retailer reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $0.49 EPS. Analysts expect that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.69 EPS 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 24th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is presently 42.74%.

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.