Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

ANF has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 15.7 %

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $135.61 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.95 and a 200 day moving average of $149.73. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $95.51 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANF. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $3,864,000 after buying an additional 19,222 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $19,986,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 115.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after acquiring an additional 13,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,027,000.

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.