Schroder Investment Management Group Takes $2.77 Million Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 17,934 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,773,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 9,047 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

ANF stock opened at $73.37 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.34. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $66.51 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.41.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

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.