Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Sells 1,229,505 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership cut its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 75.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 396,991 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 1,229,505 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.79% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $59,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ANF. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at about $210,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,031 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,658,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $88,478,000. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,687,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF opened at $78.67 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52 week low of $73.39 and a 52 week high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on ANF shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

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.