Comerica Bank Grows Stock Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Comerica Bank raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,267 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,991 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.19% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $14,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $212,000. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 87.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 24,669 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,687,000 after buying an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 158,554 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $23,699,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $12,406,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

NYSE ANF traded up $1.77 on Friday, hitting $70.79. 1,258,268 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,005,386. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $78.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.33. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 52-week low of $65.40 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.00 and a beta of 1.41.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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.