Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $73.39 and last traded at $75.42, with a volume of 130038 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.57.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANF has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 3.0 %

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.59. The company has a market cap of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. On average, 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 approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,217,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter.

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.