Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,941 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,187,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 51,377 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $7,679,000 after purchasing an additional 4,195 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 284,099 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $42,151,000 after acquiring an additional 30,091 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 51,538 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $7,703,000 after acquiring an additional 11,100 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 79,350 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $11,860,000 after purchasing an additional 7,146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 44,033 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $6,582,000 after purchasing an additional 14,913 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $114.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE ANF traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $73.20. 1,390,481 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,017,188. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.69. 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 data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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