Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $140.88.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective 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 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 55.6% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 728 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at $10,212,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at about $399,000. Finally, Invst LLC grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Invst LLC now owns 4,017 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE:ANF opened at $73.37 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $66.51 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $95.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.34.

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, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has authorized 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 repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically 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.