Highland Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Highland Capital Management LLC increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,694 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $119.48 on Friday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.14 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The company has a market cap of $6.02 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 1.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.11.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its 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. 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%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ANF. UBS Group raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.25.

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.