Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.75.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 3.1 %

Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $86.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $121.00 and a 200-day moving average of $136.79. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52-week low of $79.77 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.