Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 48.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,107 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $1,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th 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. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in 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. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF opened at $76.65 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a one year low of $74.31 and a one year high of $196.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.47.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.