Morgan Stanley Issues Positive Forecast for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Price

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $82.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the apparel retailer's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 4.62% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays set a $84.00 price target on Abercrombie & Fitch and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded down $4.66 on Thursday, hitting $78.38. The company had a trading volume of 5,018,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,124,106. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $194.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $74.51 and a 200-day moving average of $107.43.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.14 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted 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 worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period.

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.