Plato Investment Management Ltd Lowers Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 181 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $27,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in 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 in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE ANF opened at $87.43 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $123.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.94. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1-year low of $79.77 and a 1-year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ANF shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.