DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Lowers Stock Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 71.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,880 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 27,551 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $1,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 87.2% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,818 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,318,000 after buying an additional 4,108 shares in the last quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC now owns 24,669 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,479 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 158,554 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $23,699,000 after purchasing an additional 4,837 shares during the last quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth $12,406,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 96.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 22,827 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 11,208 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

ANF stock opened at $73.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50 day moving average price is $75.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.69. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week 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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.63.

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.

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