Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $65.57 and last traded at $68.03, with a volume of 323970 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ANF shares. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $95.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.34.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 4,068 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $569,000 after acquiring an additional 1,943 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the third quarter worth about $1,744,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 41.7% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 2,478 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,617 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter valued at about $548,000.

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.