Cibc World Markets Corp Makes New Investment in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Cibc World Markets Corp acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,706 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $703,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:ANF opened at $79.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a PE ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.48. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $74.31 and a 12 month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) 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. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

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