Blueshift Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,014 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 12,804 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lingohr Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $362,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 127,760.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,393 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,283 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $28,327,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ANF shares. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 3.3 %

ANF opened at $82.31 on Thursday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $74.31 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $109.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.38. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.14 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly 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. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.