Fisher Asset Management LLC, known for its investment management services, has recently taken an interest in American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. The company purchased a new stake in the shares of American Eagle Outfitters during the fourth quarter. The stake in question totals to 1,500,313 shares exceeding a worth of $20 million. Fisher Asset Management owns roughly 0.80% of the company’s stock at the end of the most recent quarter.
This purchase is impressive given that American Eagle Outfitters recently declared a quarterly dividend which was paid on Friday, April 21st. Investors were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share on this occasion; this represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and yields at 2.91%. It must be acknowledged that American Eagle Outfitters’s dividend payout ratio currently stands at 64.52%.
The stock in question has been reported by many analyst reports including analysts from StockNews.com who initiated coverage on shares of American Eagle Outfitters in a research note on Thursday, March 16th where they issued it a “hold” rating. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of American Eagle Outfitters from $17 to $18 following this research report.
Morgan Stanley rated it “underweight” with a price target set at $12 while Telsey Advisory Group rated it “market perform” with a price target set at $17 respectively. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned hold ratings and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock as Bloomberg says so; henceforth making it apparent that out of all these reports that have been scrutinized by invested parties one can discern and deduce that there seems mutism over the current price value indicating why two analysts labeled this particular stock as “sell”.
When considering all research reports made concerning these shares named above, one can deduce that they are currently assessed by Bloomberg as holding a “Hold” rating based upon a consensus of analysts. The indicated value proposition for this investment is thought to be roughly $14.62, which seems moderately agreeable among analyst reports when discussing market shares in this specific apparel retail industry.
Recent Changes in AEO Stock Holdings: Investor Interest Remains Despite Insider Activity
American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has recently undergone some significant changes in their stock holdings, with several hedge funds and institutional investors modifying their positions. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in AEO in the first quarter for $37,000, followed by Eisler Capital UK Ltd. acquiring a new position valued at $34,000 in the third quarter. QVIDTVM Management LLC acquired a position worth $58,000 during the same period while IFP Advisors Inc grew its share by 17.6%, now owning 8,989 shares valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter alone. Lastly, Institute for Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position during the fourth quarter valued at $148,000. With institutional investors holding a vast majority of AEO’s stock at 93.34%, these acquisitions could indicate positive market sentiment towards American Eagle Outfitters.
However, recent insider selling may raise questions about employee confidence within AEO’s management team despite this positive outlook on the company’s stock price performance by institutional investors. Insider Jennifer M. Foyle sold 70,214 shares of AEO stock worth $1,185,212 on February 2nd in two separate transactions disclosed to SEC following legal requirements of disclosure obligations for insiders trading opportunities involving securities of their employing companies.
Similarly just six days later on February 8th EVP Michael Rempell sold 33,642 stocks for $537935 which became known from another legal filing on SEC website dated February 9th showing that insiders have offloaded more than 147 thousand shares collectively valuing over two million dollars during the past ninety days’ time span.
Yet these developments do not diminish investor appetite for AEO’s quarterly dividends as the company announced one to be paid to shareholders on April 21st reflecting strength projected onto revenues and net earnings data released earlier this year on March 1st. The company had beaten revenue forecasts for that quarter, posting impressive earnings at $1.50 billion compared to an anticipated $1.47 billion. Additionally, AEO reported a net margin of 2.51%, exceeding expectations from analysts and beating the consensus estimate of earnings per share (EPS) by $0.07.
AEO opened Tuesday at $13.73 with a market cap valuation hovering around $2.69 billion as it is expected to post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year, something that investors are surely keeping a close eye on in the months ahead. With a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01 and P/E ration of 22.15 aided by its recent performance metrics and growth strategy strengthening its brand it makes for an interesting investment proposition that can provide some significant returns when coupled with favorable market conditions which act as catalysts for shareholder-value appreciation over time periods of different magnitudes inflicting positive reinforcement leading to eventual price appreciate & exploration of new all-time highs eventually surpassing estimates derived from model predictions formulated using data points gleaned from historic precedents leading towards formulating dire projections presenting serious concerns about assets under management generating suboptimal returns causing capital flight.
All in all, American Eagle Outfitters appears poised for growth and continues to attract institutional investment interest despite insider activity suggesting caution is also warranted before investing funds into this stock opportunity given ongoing economic uncertainty from rising commodity prices caused by geopolitical tensions among countries who drive global trade policies putting AEO relatively more exposed than other companies operating among peers offering similar products suggests that investing here could represent risky opportunities awaiting to be explored by risk novice & sophisticated investors alike.