Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 31,896 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 1,365.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,232 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,896 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.07% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $5,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $153,494,000 after purchasing an additional 512,700 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 18.1% in the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 502,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,347,000 after acquiring an additional 76,900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 460,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $81,915,000 after purchasing an additional 20,616 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 454,550 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,969,000 after purchasing an additional 141,788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,632,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Argus cut Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.57.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF stock opened at $140.65 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.03 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.83. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49 and a beta of 1.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total transaction of $2,501,225.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,676,109.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,676,109.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,627,594. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks brands.