Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $111.38.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF stock opened at $74.52 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a one year low of $65.40 and a one year high of $189.82. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $75.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $103.12. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.14 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing 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.