Argus Upgrades Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to Buy

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $162.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock. Argus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 9.42% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $87.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $118.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $175.00 target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $153.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.17.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $148.05 on Monday. Abercrombie & Fitch has a fifty-two week low of $65.45 and a fifty-two week high of $154.58. The company has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.34.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The apparel retailer reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.99 by $2.18. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 33.52% and a net margin of 10.03%.The business’s revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.91 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 13.100-13.600 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 11.4 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total value of $1,150,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 152,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,541,410. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 30,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,300,000. 2.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 85.6% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 7,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth about $819,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 8,792.9% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,671,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $420,483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,618,988 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,278,000. Finally, AlphaGrep UK Ltd purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter valued at about $303,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) is an American specialty retailer that designs, markets and sells casual apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, the company evolved from an outdoor gear outfitter to a global lifestyle brand renowned for its relaxed, preppy aesthetic. Its product assortment includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, intimates, swimwear, fragrances and personal care items.

The company operates under multiple brand names, including Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie Kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks, each targeting distinct consumer segments from teens to young adults.