Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Upgraded by UBS Group to “Buy” Rating

UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $220.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous price target of $173.00.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 6.5 %

NYSE:ANF opened at $161.54 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.37. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $95.47 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,982.09. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the third 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 last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8,914.3% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 631 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 66.1% in the second quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 741 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter.

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.