Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Price Down 4.7% – Should You Sell?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)’s stock price was down 4.7% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $123.23 and last traded at $122.54. Approximately 1,108,158 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 2,422,377 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.57.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $146.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.48.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. The company 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Lmcg Investments LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 24,669 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,479 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 228.9% during the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 27,621 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,864,000 after purchasing an additional 19,222 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 115.8% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 25,483 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,565,000 after buying an additional 13,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 26,756 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,978 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.