Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ANF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,221,890 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $171,815,000 after acquiring an additional 63,157 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,017,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $142,379,000 after purchasing an additional 204,901 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $155,281,000 after purchasing an additional 120,509 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,733,000 after buying an additional 60,022 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.0% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 569,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $79,719,000 after buying an additional 16,754 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $131.47 on Wednesday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52 week low of $95.51 and a 52 week high of $196.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $147.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $149.73. The company has a market cap of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.52.

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

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.