Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Boosts Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,300 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $7,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,281,000 after purchasing an additional 120,509 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,143 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $121,733,000 after acquiring an additional 60,022 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 569,828 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $79,719,000 after buying an additional 16,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,048,000.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. This represents a 40.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 37,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,222,568.60. This trade represents a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,072 shares of company stock worth $5,161,597 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF stock opened at $154.97 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.13. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a one year low of $75.69 and a one year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ANF shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.