Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 19,559 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,736,000 after acquiring an additional 9,022 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,944.5% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,597 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,462,000 after purchasing an additional 17,019 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the third quarter valued at about $255,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,716 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $549,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $101.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $130.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.32. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52 week low of $99.12 and a 52 week high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. 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. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.25.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.