Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ANF. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $100.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $81.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $98.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $97.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $122.71.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

ANF opened at $116.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.13. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $21.74 and a twelve month high of $140.28.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 6th. The apparel retailer reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.14. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 38.80%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 7.48 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jay Rust sold 786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.41, for a total value of $98,572.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,014 shares in the company, valued at $127,165.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.95, for a total value of $4,478,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 88,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,330,996.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jay Rust sold 786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.41, for a total value of $98,572.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,014 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $127,165.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 158,786 shares of company stock worth $20,096,812. 3.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 25,435 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,244,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 8,587 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 36.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,379 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000.

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.