North Growth Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF)

North Growth Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 32.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 26,000 shares during the period. Abercrombie & Fitch makes up about 1.7% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. North Growth Management Ltd. owned 0.22% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $8,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ANF. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $2,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded up $2.13 on Friday, hitting $77.97. The stock had a trading volume of 2,900,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,173,419. Abercrombie & Fitch Company has a one year low of $65.40 and a one year high of $186.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $75.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $100.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANF has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays set a $84.00 price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.63.

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.