CastleKnight Management LP Cuts Stock Holdings in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. $AEO

CastleKnight Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) by 31.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 187,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 84,700 shares during the period. CastleKnight Management LP’s holdings in American Eagle Outfitters were worth $4,942,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in American Eagle Outfitters by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,000,419 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $158,231,000 after purchasing an additional 680,332 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 151,993.0% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 65,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,725,000 after buying an additional 65,357 shares during the last quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,051,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,493,902 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $25,561,000 after buying an additional 60,442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of American Eagle Outfitters in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,864,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.33% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Eagle Outfitters

In other news, Director Cary D. Mcmillan sold 2,887 shares of American Eagle Outfitters stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.23, for a total transaction of $49,743.01. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Noel Joseph Spiegel sold 2,887 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.32, for a total transaction of $50,002.84. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 8.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $24.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of American Eagle Outfitters from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $20.00 to $16.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $22.00 price objective on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.36.

American Eagle Outfitters Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEO opened at $17.13 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. has a 12 month low of $9.46 and a 12 month high of $28.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.33.

American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.03. American Eagle Outfitters had a net margin of 5.01% and a return on equity of 20.95%. The business had revenue of $1.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.29) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. will post 1.77 earnings per share for the current year.

American Eagle Outfitters Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. American Eagle Outfitters’s payout ratio is presently 30.86%.

About American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (NYSE: AEO) is a leading American specialty retailer offering apparel, accessories and personal care products for men and women. The company’s flagship brand, American Eagle, focuses on casualwear including denim, tops, outerwear and accessories targeted primarily at teens and young adults. In addition to its core apparel lines, the company operates the Aerie brand of intimates, loungewear and swimwear, which has gained recognition for its body-positive marketing and inclusive sizing.

American Eagle Outfitters conducts business through a combination of over 900 brick-and-mortar stores in North America and Greater China, complemented by a growing e-commerce platform that serves customers around the globe.