Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Friday.

ANF has been the subject of several other reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE ANF traded down $2.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $100.32. The stock had a trading volume of 1,907,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,118,949. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 1.49. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $99.51 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.83.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total value of $1,292,471.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 97,850 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,697,070. The trade was a 8.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,275,982.09. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.