Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Raises Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,857 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ANF. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,755,692 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $860,303,000 after acquiring an additional 53,999 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $221,910,000 after purchasing an additional 892,492 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,829,000 after purchasing an additional 212,155 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,773 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $155,116,000 after buying an additional 115,758 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 701,798 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $104,898,000 after buying an additional 131,970 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 5.6 %

ANF opened at $73.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.42. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ANF. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Raymond James set a $110.00 price target on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $210.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.29.

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.