Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $59.34 Million Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lowered its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 75.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 396,991 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,229,505 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $59,338,000 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 Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted 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 acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth about $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF stock opened at $78.67 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.59. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a one year low of $73.39 and a one year high of $196.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.45.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” 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 report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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. Three research 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.88.

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.