740,726 Shares in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 740,726 shares of the apparel retailer's stock, valued at approximately $56,569,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 1.52% of Abercrombie & Fitch as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,917 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $146,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 161.4% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 583 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Delphi Management Inc. MA bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 1st quarter valued at $493,000. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 4,136 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 55.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ANF shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Barclays set a $84.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 5.4%

ANF stock traded down $4.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $74.52. 2,072,638 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,159,428. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $103.12. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $189.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.37 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The apparel retailer reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.14 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.