Marshall Wace LLP Grows Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,037,773 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 115,758 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $155,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ANF. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% in 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 last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $70.54 on Wednesday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $87.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $123.25. The company has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.98 and a beta of 1.41.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.29.

Abercrombie & Fitch Profile

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.