Taika Capital LP Purchases Shares of 5,032 Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Taika Capital LP purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,032 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $752,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ANF. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of ANF opened at $86.16 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52 week low of $79.77 and a 52 week high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $121.00 and a 200-day moving average of $136.55.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.75.

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.