EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Grows Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 113.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,092 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,337 shares during the period. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $3,745,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $79.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $74.31 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $105.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.01.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.