American Eagle treats investors with surprise dividend

American Eagle Outfitters Inc.'s (AEO) will treat its stakeholders with a special dividend of 1.50 dollars. This special dividend is to be added to its regular quarterly payout of 11 cents a share to stockholders of record on Sept. 26.

“The special cash dividend is a component of our capital allocation plan, which balances continued investment in our business with top tier shareholder returns,” Hanson said in today’s statement. The board also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 11 cents a share.

American Eagle Outfitters in August reported that its fiscal second-quarter earnings edged down 3.3 percent on losses tied to the sale of its children's business, though the company recorded stronger-than expected sales as it cut down on discounts and saw traffic improve.

The special dividend is expected to cost the company 295 million dollars and is the company’s first such dividend since 2010, reported ‘Bloomberg’.