Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 934,710 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 105,300 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.86% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $139,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $72.58 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of 7.18 and a beta of 1.41. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $65.57 and a 12 month high of $196.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.87.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group cut 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. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Profile

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.