Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Short Interest Update

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,790,000 shares, a growth of 10.4% from the November 30th total of 4,340,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,710,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 9.7% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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, November 27th. Raymond James began 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 on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANF traded down $5.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $149.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,704,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,916. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $86.91 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.78 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.30.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,221,890 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $171,815,000 after purchasing an additional 63,157 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 204,901 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,281,000 after buying an additional 120,509 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,733,000 after buying an additional 60,022 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares in 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.