Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Trading Up 3.4% – Time to Buy?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)’s stock price was up 3.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $151.97 and last traded at $151.80. Approximately 212,524 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 88% from the average daily volume of 1,703,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James started coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Friday, December 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 5.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.53 and a beta of 1.52.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, 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 value of $459,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at $3,275,982.09. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 242.6% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 39.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.