Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)’s share price reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $77.31 and last traded at $78.38, with a volume of 1460539 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.30.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm 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%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during 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 during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company 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.