KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $1.87 Million Investment in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,868,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ANF opened at $77.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $74.31 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $101.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during 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 firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.