Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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 note on Wednesday, November 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE:ANF opened at $154.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.01.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741 in the last three months. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the third quarter worth $211,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,685,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,762,000 after buying an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 47.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 22.8% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 317 shares during the last quarter.

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.