Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 9,128 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas decreased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 25.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 9,128 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.05% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in ANF. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,371,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,017,720 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $142,379,000 after acquiring an additional 204,901 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,327,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 701,798 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $104,898,000 after purchasing an additional 131,970 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 561.7% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 125,550 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $17,564,000 after purchasing an additional 106,577 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

NYSE ANF opened at $79.13 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52 week low of $74.31 and a 52 week high of $196.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $105.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Profile

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.