Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 42.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,596 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 107,248 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.29% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $20,509,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 460,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $81,915,000 after buying an additional 20,616 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 10,889 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,936,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 53.0% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 131,570 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $23,398,000 after purchasing an additional 45,604 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $718,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $831,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 0.6 %

ANF opened at $152.07 on Thursday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $86.91 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.84 and a 200 day moving average of $152.55. The firm has a market cap of $7.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.04 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,292,471.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.