Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $122.71.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price target (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus lifted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $97.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $81.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

NYSE ANF opened at $111.83 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.58. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $21.74 and a fifty-two week high of $140.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.15, for a total transaction of $15,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,819,939.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 120,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.15, for a total transaction of $15,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,819,939.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rust sold 786 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,014 shares in the company, valued at $127,165.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 158,786 shares of company stock worth $20,096,812. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 985.0% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,085 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.