Short Interest in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Expands By 9.6%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,320,000 shares, a growth of 9.6% from the September 15th total of 3,940,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,930,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 8.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total value of $487,830.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,222,568.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,256. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.5% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,492 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $489,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 30,284 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 362,479 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $50,711,000 after acquiring an additional 97,893 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 1.4 %

ANF stock traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $166.13. 400,568 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,702,167. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.80. Abercrombie & Fitch has a one year low of $57.78 and a one year high of $196.99. The company has a market cap of $8.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 1.49.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Argus downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.71.

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.