Short Interest in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Grows By 8.4%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, an increase of 8.4% from the October 31st total of 4,160,000 shares. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF traded down $2.34 on Tuesday, hitting $154.97. 1,614,143 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,754,712. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12 month low of $75.69 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,222,568.60. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the business’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 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. Insiders sold a total of 37,072 shares of company stock valued at $5,161,597 in the last three months. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANF. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 1,070 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $150,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the third quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC now owns 9,445 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.4% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,564 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.5% in the second quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 1,695 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.6% in the second quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,277 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $583,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ANF. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.14.

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.