Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Company $ANF

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,686,749 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 97,670 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $400,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 50,588 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,328,000 after purchasing an additional 6,932 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.8% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 27,596 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,361,000 after buying an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the third quarter valued at $984,000. Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter valued at $446,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 268.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 666 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 103,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.53, for a total value of $10,168,296.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,640,504.59. This trade represents a 14.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 350,000 shares of company stock worth $34,661,358 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $149.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.90.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF opened at $99.21 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $106.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.19. Abercrombie & Fitch Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $133.11.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.22. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 38.01% and a net margin of 10.07%.The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) is an American specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells casual apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, the company evolved from an outdoor gear outfitter to a global lifestyle brand renowned for its relaxed, preppy aesthetic. Its product assortment includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, intimates, swimwear, fragrances and personal care items.

The company operates under multiple brand names, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks, each targeting distinct consumer segments from teens to young adults.