Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Shares Up 5.3% - Still a Buy?

Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) shares traded up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $84.39 and last traded at $84.06. 731,086 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 2,169,495 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANF has been the subject of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Raymond James Financial decreased 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 note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $141.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 0.1%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.31 and a 200-day moving average of $97.60. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.15 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.24. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 42.32% and a net margin of 10.60%. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.14 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 10,064 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 4,647 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 701,798 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $104,898,000 after acquiring an additional 131,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,812 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter.

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.