Stifel Financial Corp Buys New Shares in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,916 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 283.0% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 303,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $54,045,000 after buying an additional 224,555 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 293.7% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 286,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $51,043,000 after acquiring an additional 213,684 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 4,286.8% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 181,525 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $32,267,000 after purchasing an additional 177,387 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $155.34 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $86.91 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.56. The firm has a market cap of $7.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.36 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. On average, analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANF has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.