Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Rating Increased to Buy at UBS Group

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage presently has a $220.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $173.00. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 45.10% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on ANF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Friday, December 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

ANF opened at $151.62 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.52. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.37. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $93.91 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741 over the last quarter. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter valued at approximately $428,000. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 19.7% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 14,600 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,596,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 429.9% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,911 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.5% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter valued at approximately $279,000.

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.