Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.00.

ANF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $112.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Argus downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $167.00 to $194.00 in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF opened at $152.59 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 1.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $170.37 and a 200-day moving average of $137.21. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52-week low of $38.53 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.64.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $2.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.48. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 9.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.37 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 9.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,066.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.48, for a total transaction of $1,588,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 115,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,375,498.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 5,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,009,066.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 22,120 shares of company stock valued at $3,875,693. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,722,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,191,102 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $348,992,000 after buying an additional 146,384 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $174,000. Highland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000.

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.