First Trust Advisors LP Has $6.83 Million Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,709 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,650 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.09% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $6,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 0.9 %

ANF traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $71.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 258,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,998,615. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of 7.06 and a beta of 1.47.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ANF shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $127.25.

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.