Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Given New $170.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) had its price target reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $220.00 to $170.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ANF. UBS Group upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.50.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 9.0 %

Shares of ANF opened at $87.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.94. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 8.65 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $79.77 and a 1 year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 62.2% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,476 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $206,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 233.3% in the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 88,291 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $12,352,000 after purchasing an additional 61,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1,718.5% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 8,929 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 8,438 shares during the period.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.