Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 2,115,571 American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO)

Norges Bank bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,115,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $35,267,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in American Eagle Outfitters in the third quarter worth $931,000. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the 4th quarter worth $267,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 137.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 1,944 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter valued at about $378,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new stake in American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter worth about $1,557,000. 97.33% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

American Eagle Outfitters Trading Up 4.6 %

AEO stock opened at $10.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.38 and a 200-day moving average of $16.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.40. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.80 and a 12 month high of $25.50.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AEO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $19.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays lowered American Eagle Outfitters from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $10.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup set a $13.00 target price on American Eagle Outfitters and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James began coverage on American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on American Eagle Outfitters from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.00.

Insider Transactions at American Eagle Outfitters

In other American Eagle Outfitters news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,999 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.02, for a total value of $48,043.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

American Eagle Outfitters Company 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.