Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Abercrombie & Fitch a “Moderate Buy,” with nine buy ratings, two strong-buy ratings and five holds among 16 firms. The average 12-month price target is $157.21.
• ANF shares opened at $164.83, near their 52-week high of $166.40, and have risen 5.8%. The company recently beat quarterly expectations with $4.17 in EPS versus the $1.99 consensus and revenue of $1.27 billion.
• Institutional investors increased their holdings, while insiders sold 62,800 shares worth approximately $8.5 million over the past three months.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.21.

A number of research firms have commented on ANF. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $87.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Argus upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $162.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $110.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.82, for a total transaction of $293,640.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 145,534 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,367,301.88. This trade represents a 1.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Gregory J. Henchel sold 30,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.65, for a total value of $4,399,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 33,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,939,318.65. The trade was a 47.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 62,800 shares of company stock valued at $8,545,392 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 2.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANF. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 15.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,596,177 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $145,823,000 after purchasing an additional 208,709 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 41.6% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,310,296 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $119,722,000 after purchasing an additional 384,845 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 12.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 486,134 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $44,418,000 after purchasing an additional 53,161 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 257,474 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $24,269,000 after purchasing an additional 60,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the second quarter worth $20,035,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 5.8%

ANF stock opened at $164.83 on Tuesday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52-week low of $65.45 and a 52-week high of $166.40. The stock's 50 day moving average is $139.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.07. The company has a market capitalization of $6.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.02.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The apparel retailer reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $2.18. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 33.52% and a net margin of 10.03%. The company had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Abercrombie & Fitch has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 13.100-13.600 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co is a global specialty retailer that sells apparel, accessories and personal-care products through stores and digital channels. Its portfolio includes Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks, with products designed for consumers across a range of life stages and lifestyles.

The company's offerings include casual clothing, denim, dresses, tops, outerwear, intimates, activewear, swimwear, footwear, accessories and fragrances. Abercrombie & Fitch serves customers through company-operated and franchise stores, as well as branded websites and other digital platforms, in the United States and selected international markets.

Founded in 1892 as an outdoor and sporting-goods retailer, the company later developed into a fashion retailer focused on casual apparel.

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