JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Price

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) had its price objective dropped by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $168.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 119.73% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.29.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $70.54 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.41. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12 month low of $65.40 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.45 and a 200-day moving average of $123.25.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $221,910,000 after acquiring an additional 892,492 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 1st quarter valued at $56,569,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at about $88,478,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,829,000 after acquiring an additional 212,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth about $31,371,000.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.