New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,093 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $76.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 1.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.47. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $74.31 and a 12-month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ANF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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 Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company 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.