Murchinson Ltd. Takes $1.78 Million Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Murchinson Ltd. bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 10,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,778,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ANF. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,435 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $342,000. Caxton Associates LP raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 24,301 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 7,150 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $1,968,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $144.50 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $53.16 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.24. The stock has a market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97 and a beta of 1.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 47.35%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,627,594. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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, August 29th. 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 report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $167.00 to $194.00 in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.57.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.