BNP Paribas Financial Markets Buys 4,195 Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,377 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,195 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $7,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth $69,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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. Four 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 6.9%

NYSE ANF opened at $78.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $65.40 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $113.05.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company 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.