Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $22.36 Million Stock Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 149,559 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,963 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $22,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during 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 during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth 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. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 997 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ANF opened at $100.32 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52-week low of $99.51 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50 day moving average of $132.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $140.91.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.