Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Sees Large Volume Increase on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. Approximately 961,803 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 1,677,701 shares.The stock last traded at $148.27 and had previously closed at $154.50.

The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.19. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ANF shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,627,594. This trade represents a 7.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was 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 trade was a 40.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.6% during the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 5.0 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.53 and a beta of 1.50.

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.