Castle Hook Partners LP Reduces Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Castle Hook Partners LP lessened its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,381 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 66,981 shares during the period. Castle Hook Partners LP owned 0.33% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $23,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the third quarter worth about $73,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,036.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 419,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $74,615,000 after buying an additional 399,922 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 224,555 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 293.7% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 286,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $51,043,000 after acquiring an additional 213,684 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of ANF opened at $148.59 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.50. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $74.68 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $143.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.58.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company’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. Research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,627,594. This trade represents a 7.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,256 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded 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 upped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.14.

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.