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

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

ANF has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF opened at $102.94 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $99.12 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.43. The firm has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18 and a beta of 1.49.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. 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 firm posted $1.83 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

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

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.