Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Rating Lowered to Hold at Argus

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was downgraded by research analysts at Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ANF. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $112.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $174.14.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $173.39 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $165.24 and a 200-day moving average of $131.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57 and a beta of 1.54. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52 week low of $33.38 and a 52 week high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.37 million. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The company’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.39 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 9.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total value of $44,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,127,767.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total transaction of $44,244,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,127,767.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 5,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,066.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 422,120 shares of company stock worth $48,119,693. 3.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 171.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 664,074 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $37,434,000 after buying an additional 419,781 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,722,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,191,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $348,992,000 after purchasing an additional 146,384 shares during the period. FCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth approximately $744,000. Finally, Range Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 11,280 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period.

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.