Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $177.43.

Several research analysts have issued reports on ANF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF stock opened at $154.86 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $72.98 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,627,594. This represents a 7.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. This represents a 40.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,256 in the last quarter. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 242.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 376 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.