Investors Purchase Large Volume of Abercrombie & Fitch Put Options (NYSE:ANF)

Key Points

• Abercrombie & Fitch saw a notable increase in options trading, with 17,640 put options acquired, marking a 39% rise compared to its average volume.
• Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch decreased by 3.0%, closing at $90.73, with the stock experiencing a significant trading volume of 933,385 shares.
• The company exceeded analysts' earnings expectations, reporting an EPS of $2.32 and revenue of $1.21 billion for the latest quarter, contributing to an annual revenue increase of 6.6%.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 17,640 put options on the company. Thisisanincreaseof39% compared to the average daily volume of 12,659 put options.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded up $1.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.28. 1,661,672 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,101,159. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 1.44. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $84.40. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $167.71.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The apparel retailer reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 10.61% and a return on equity of 40.02%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch has set its FY 2025 guidance at 10.000-10.500 EPS. Q3 2025 guidance at 2.050-2.250 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director James A. Goldman sold 5,072 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.18, for a total value of $487,824.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 7,565 shares of the company's stock, valued at $727,601.70. This represents a 40.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jay Rust sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.15, for a total transaction of $139,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,648 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $619,261.20. This trade represents a 18.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Virtue Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,779 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,958,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 9,569 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 31,095 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,375,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 12,240 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,014,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $93.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $115.25.

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.