Stifel Financial Corp Acquires 7,837 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 200.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,753 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,837 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $1,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth about $69,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANF has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $114.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $69.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.89 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.40. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.