Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Lowers Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Free Report) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 20,700 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 32,600 shares during the period. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.'s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,755,692 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $860,303,000 after buying an additional 53,999 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $221,910,000 after buying an additional 892,492 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $183,829,000 after buying an additional 212,155 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 12.6% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,773 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $155,116,000 after buying an additional 115,758 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 745,723 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $111,463,000 after buying an additional 147,779 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ANF shares. Raymond James set a $110.00 price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $114.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $111.13.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of ANF stock traded up $4.57 on Thursday, reaching $77.18. The stock had a trading volume of 1,058,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,042,047. The stock has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.63 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $196.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.61.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are 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.