31,358 Shares in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Purchased by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 31,358 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,687,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth $69,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $75.87 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.50 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $74.31 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $102.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $130.24.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.