Short Interest in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Decreases By 5.4%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,700,000 shares, a drop of 5.4% from the July 31st total of 3,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days. Approximately 7.4% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Nigel Travis sold 7,700 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.66, for a total transaction of $1,337,182.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,448,019.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Nigel Travis sold 7,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.66, for a total value of $1,337,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,855 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,019.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,880 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,009,066.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,036.5% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 419,560 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $74,615,000 after purchasing an additional 399,922 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,897,000. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 613.3% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 356,610 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $44,694,000 after purchasing an additional 306,616 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 3.8 %

ANF traded up $5.35 on Monday, hitting $147.57. 2,897,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,596. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $7.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 1.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.73. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $49.24 and a twelve month high of $196.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANF has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.43.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.