Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquires 66,400 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 620.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,100 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 66,400 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.15% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $11,524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake 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 buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ANF stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $73.16. 2,192,747 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,987,101. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $82.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.67.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ANF shares. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays began coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.25.

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.