Investors Buy Large Volume of Abercrombie & Fitch Call Options (NYSE:ANF)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors purchased 86,430 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 643% compared to the typical volume of 11,634 call options.

Institutional Trading of Abercrombie & Fitch

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANF. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the first quarter worth approximately $1,092,000. Impala Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 235.0% in the first quarter. Impala Asset Management LLC now owns 113,883 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $8,697,000 after buying an additional 79,883 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 91.4% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 60,161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $4,594,000 after purchasing an additional 28,722 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 102.9% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 848 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 430 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 127,389 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $9,729,000 after purchasing an additional 10,459 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $125.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $110.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $111.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 5.6%

Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded down $4.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.38. The company had a trading volume of 5,018,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,124,106. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1 year low of $65.40 and a 1 year high of $194.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $74.51 and a 200 day moving average of $107.43. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.75 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.24. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.14 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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

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.