Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Stock Price

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $114.00 to $78.00 in a report issued on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the apparel retailer's stock.

ANF has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays started coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Monday, April 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

NYSE ANF traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $73.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,390,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,499. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.24 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52 week low of $65.40 and a 52 week high of $196.99. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.93.

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

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

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in 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. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 55.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

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.