StockNews.com Upgrades Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to “Buy”

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

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on ANF. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 15.7 %

NYSE:ANF traded down $25.31 on Monday, reaching $135.61. 8,787,987 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,646,647. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.95 and its 200-day moving average is $149.73. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $95.51 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 40,721 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,087,000 after acquiring an additional 14,968 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 8,183 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after buying an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,756 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,024,000 after purchasing an additional 3,978 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at $212,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,056 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 268 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.