Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Grows Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 152.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 703 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 5.0 %

ANF stock opened at $79.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $74.31 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ANF shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.