Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ANF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of ANF stock traded down $25.31 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $135.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,787,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,647. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $147.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.73. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $95.51 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The company 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter worth $428,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter worth about $336,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter valued at $786,000. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 66.1% during the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period.

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.