Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Trading Up 3.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) were up 3.4% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $151.97 and last traded at $151.80. Approximately 212,524 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,703,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ANF shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group upped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.52. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $145.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.48.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth $211,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at approximately $8,685,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 48,338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,762,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 47.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,757 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,225,000 after buying an additional 2,835 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 22.8% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 1,708 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 317 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.