Fred Alger Management LLC Acquires New Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Fred Alger Management LLC bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 84,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $11,852,000. Fred Alger Management LLC owned about 0.17% of Abercrombie & Fitch as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 34.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 57,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,231,000 after buying an additional 14,736 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 209.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,648 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,097,000 after purchasing an additional 32,915 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 1st quarter valued at about $674,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,944 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,377,000 after purchasing an additional 10,556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter valued at approximately $494,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE ANF opened at $149.56 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $75.18 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The company has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.79 and a beta of 1.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.51.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ANF. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total transaction of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. This represents a 40.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,470 shares in the company, valued at $5,222,568.60. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

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.