Morgan Stanley Boosts Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Price Target to $149.00

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $147.00 to $149.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

ANF has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.14.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE ANF opened at $148.59 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $143.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.58. The company has a market cap of $7.59 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74 and a beta of 1.50. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $74.68 and a twelve month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued 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 $2.31 by $0.19. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total transaction of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,676,109.60. This represents a 40.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,455 shares in the company, valued at $15,627,594. This trade represents a 7.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,256 in the last 90 days. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 3rd quarter valued at about $73,048,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $153,494,000 after acquiring an additional 512,700 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,036.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 419,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $74,615,000 after acquiring an additional 399,922 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 283.0% in the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 303,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $54,045,000 after acquiring an additional 224,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 293.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 286,434 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $51,043,000 after acquiring an additional 213,684 shares in the last quarter.

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.