Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Barclays

Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) in a report released on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $71.00 price target on the apparel retailer's stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on ANF. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF traded down $1.15 during trading on Monday, reaching $73.79. 1,563,573 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,982,268. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $82.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.67. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 1.41.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 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 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANF. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,755,692 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $860,303,000 after buying an additional 53,999 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $221,910,000 after acquiring an additional 892,492 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $183,829,000 after acquiring an additional 212,155 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,773 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $155,116,000 after acquiring an additional 115,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 745,723 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $111,463,000 after purchasing an additional 147,779 shares during the last quarter.

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.