UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $165.00 to $170.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the apparel retailer's stock.

ANF has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $177.43.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE ANF traded up $2.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $144.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,283,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,485. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52 week low of $65.60 and a 52 week high of $196.99. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 1.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 47.35%. On average, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total value of $487,830.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,222,568.60. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,676,109.60. The trade was a 40.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $19,986,000 after acquiring an additional 9,061 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 1st quarter worth about $674,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 37.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 362,479 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $50,711,000 after purchasing an additional 97,893 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 209.2% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,648 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $6,097,000 after purchasing an additional 32,915 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,883 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,026,000 after buying an additional 18,707 shares during the last quarter.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks brands.