Schroder Investment Management Group Makes New Investment in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 17,934 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,773,000.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANF traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.60. The company had a trading volume of 2,020,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,094. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The stock's 50 day moving average is $89.15 and its 200-day moving average is $124.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.41.

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Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on ANF shares. Citigroup cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.25.

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.