StockNews.com Upgrades Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to “Buy”

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ANF. Morgan Stanley increased 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. UBS Group raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 3.1 %

ANF stock opened at $131.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.73. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52-week low of $95.51 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 over the last three months. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth $73,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $153,494,000 after purchasing an additional 512,700 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 283.0% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 303,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $54,045,000 after purchasing an additional 224,555 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 293.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 286,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $51,043,000 after buying an additional 213,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 25.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,017,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $142,379,000 after buying an additional 204,901 shares during the period.

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.