Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $62,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth $438,000. BML Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 15,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,385,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $556,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth $2,223,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 5.7 %

Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $122.08 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $21.74 and a 12 month high of $140.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.19.

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

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total value of $44,244,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $58,127,767.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, insider Kristin A. Scott sold 120,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.15, for a total value of $15,138,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,208 shares in the company, valued at $4,819,939.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total value of $44,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 525,520 shares in the company, valued at $58,127,767.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 558,786 shares of company stock worth $64,340,812 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $98.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Argus upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $97.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $152.00 price objective (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $122.71.

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.