Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Short Interest Update

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, a growth of 8.4% from the October 31st total of 4,160,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 9.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF stock traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $156.97. 632,964 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,697,967. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $75.69 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $144.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.13. The company has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,982.09. This represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 37,072 shares of company stock valued at $5,161,597. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $73,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $153,494,000 after acquiring an additional 512,700 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,036.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 419,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $74,615,000 after acquiring an additional 399,922 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 283.0% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 303,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $54,045,000 after purchasing an additional 224,555 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 293.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 286,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,043,000 after purchasing an additional 213,684 shares during 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.