Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.14.

ANF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective 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.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $149.69 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $75.18 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $143.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.19. The business 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 was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 37,470 shares in the company, valued at $5,222,568.60. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,676,109.60. This represents a 40.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 242.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 376 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.