Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $160.92, but opened at $146.96. Abercrombie & Fitch shares last traded at $134.99, with a volume of 1,385,941 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on ANF shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 19.4 %

The company has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83 and a beta of 1.52. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. The trade was a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total value of $880,070.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. This trade represents a 21.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741. 2.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter valued at about $428,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 29,571 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $5,259,000 after purchasing an additional 14,206 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter valued at $279,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth $336,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth about $786,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.