Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $77.15, but opened at $103.88. Abercrombie & Fitch shares last traded at $96.95, with a volume of 6,765,564 shares traded.

The apparel retailer reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.24. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.14 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANF has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays set a $84.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $111.38.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 198.2% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,955,927 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $144,582,000 after buying an additional 1,300,070 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $221,910,000 after acquiring an additional 892,492 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter valued at about $56,569,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth about $88,478,000. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3,113.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 506,088 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $38,650,000 after acquiring an additional 490,337 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.51 and a 200-day moving average of $107.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 1.47.

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.