Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 9,128 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 25.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 27,140 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 9,128 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $4,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 127,760.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,393 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 7,283 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at $28,327,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 31,439 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF opened at $79.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.01. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a one year low of $74.31 and a one year high of $196.99. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.45.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The business 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 for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ANF shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.