Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Given “Outperform” Rating at Telsey Advisory Group

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Telsey Advisory Group in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $125.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock. Telsey Advisory Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 50.40% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $114.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 6.1%

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $83.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $194.38. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.09.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 198.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,955,927 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $144,582,000 after buying an additional 1,300,070 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $221,910,000 after purchasing an additional 892,492 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter worth $56,569,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth $88,478,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3,113.1% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 506,088 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,650,000 after acquiring an additional 490,337 shares in the last quarter.

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.