Empirical Finance LLC Acquires New Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Empirical Finance LLC acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,674 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 51.4% in the 1st quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 315 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. USA Financial Formulas boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1,227.7% during the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 863 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 242.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $194.00 in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.43.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 5,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,066.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,066.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Nigel Travis sold 7,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.66, for a total value of $1,337,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,855 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,019.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

ANF opened at $147.57 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.64. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $49.24 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 1.54.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.48. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 9.53% and a return on equity of 44.83%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $967.37 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 9.35 EPS for the current 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.