Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Raised to “Buy” at UBS Group

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $220.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $173.00. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 36.19% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ANF. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. 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, November 26th. Raymond James began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ANF opened at $161.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.52. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $95.47 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.15.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 39.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 8,914.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 631 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter.

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.