Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $73.39 and last traded at $75.42, with a volume of 130038 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.57.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.45.

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $221,910,000 after purchasing an additional 892,492 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $88,478,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $183,829,000 after purchasing an additional 212,155 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth $31,371,000. Finally, Boston Partners bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at $28,327,000.

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.