Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.50.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ANF. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 8,914.3% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 631 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $152.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.52. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $86.91 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.55.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.