Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of ANF stock opened at $154.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 1.52. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $86.91 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $146.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.13.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 in the last ninety days. 2.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ANF. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 228.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,621 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,864,000 after purchasing an additional 19,222 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $19,986,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 115.8% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 362,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,711,000 after acquiring an additional 97,893 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the third quarter valued at about $3,027,000.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.