BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Takes $17.25 Million Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 115,433 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $17,254,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S owned about 0.23% of Abercrombie & Fitch as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at about $69,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANF has been the topic of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Monday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded down $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.53. The company had a trading volume of 612,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,840. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.21. The stock has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.09 and a beta of 1.41. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

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.