Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Shares Acquired by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,674 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,618 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned 0.09% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $6,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ANF. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,482 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth about $2,539,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 374,061 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,911,000 after acquiring an additional 11,582 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 11,187 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 3,194 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 0.8%

ANF stock opened at $79.71 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.88 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $112.20. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday, April 21st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.63.

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.