Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Sets New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) shares hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $99.12 and last traded at $102.17, with a volume of 2793991 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $100.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ANF. StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Raymond James dropped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.64.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total value of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.