Altshuler Shaham Ltd Invests $193,000 in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,290 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $193,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $221,910,000 after purchasing an additional 892,492 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth $88,478,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in 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 buying an additional 212,155 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $31,371,000. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at $28,327,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.29.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of ANF opened at $69.48 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 1.41. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12-month low of $65.40 and a 12-month high of $196.99. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $86.54 and its 200-day moving average is $122.88.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management 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.