Abercrombie & Fitch Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:ANF)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors acquired 86,430 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 643% compared to the average volume of 11,634 call options.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 6.1%

Shares of NYSE:ANF opened at $83.11 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $74.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.09. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $194.38. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.22 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.38.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake 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 period. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period.

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.