Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Upgraded by UBS Group to Buy Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $220.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $173.00.

ANF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Raymond James initiated coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF opened at $161.54 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $95.47 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 19,992 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,797,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter.

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.