American Century Companies Inc. Raises Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 680,930 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,493 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 1.35% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $101,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th 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 during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded up $2.07 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $77.79. The company had a trading volume of 715,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,831,175. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.71 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1-year low of $74.31 and a 1-year high of $196.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.24.

Remove Ads

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ANF. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company 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.