Rhumbline Advisers Acquires 4,837 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,554 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.31% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $23,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 997 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $139,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $182.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of ANF stock traded down $2.23 on Friday, reaching $100.92. The company had a trading volume of 986,648 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,089,642. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a PE ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.98 and a 200-day moving average of $141.06. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $100.65 and a 12 month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.83 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.