MetLife Investment Management LLC Acquires 4,150 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,170 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,150 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $8,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth $69,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of ANF stock opened at $72.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 7.22 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $121.31. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $65.40 and a 12 month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs 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.