Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Price Up 5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) rose 5% on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $194.00 to $195.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Abercrombie & Fitch traded as high as $142.50 and last traded at $140.82. Approximately 516,400 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 1,703,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $134.12.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Argus cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $193.00 to $165.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,627,594. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,222,568.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,627,594. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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 valued at $4,310,256. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.8% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 112,381 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $19,986,000 after buying an additional 9,061 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 1st quarter valued at about $674,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 209.2% during the 1st 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 123.3% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,883 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $6,026,000 after purchasing an additional 18,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter worth about $585,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $144.97 and a 200 day moving average of $147.48. The company has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 1.49.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.26 EPS for the current year.

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.