Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Grows Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF)

Key Points

• Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 446.4% in the first quarter, now owning 60,376 shares valued at $4.61 million.
• Abercrombie & Fitch's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $1.59, surpassing expectations and reflecting a 7.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Abercrombie & Fitch, with an average price target of $111.88.

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 446.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 60,376 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 49,326 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP owned approximately 0.13% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $4,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ANF. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 161.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 55.6% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 728 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 166.7% during the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 848 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 68.0% during the first quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 904 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at $70,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANF traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.62. 1,944,392 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,478,610. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.40. Abercrombie & Fitch Company has a 12 month low of $65.40 and a 12 month high of $172.90. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.54.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 10.60% and a return on equity of 42.32%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.88.

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.