Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Shares Bought by Bridgewater Associates LP

Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 118.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 274,143 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 148,593 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.54% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $40,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ANF. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth $212,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,318,000 after buying an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 24,669 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 158,554 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $23,699,000 after acquiring an additional 4,837 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at $12,406,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 5.6 %

ANF traded up $3.91 on Friday, reaching $73.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,585,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,973,673. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.41. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $135.29.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.