Stevens Capital Management LP Purchases New Stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,044 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ANF. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 36.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Up 5.7 %

ANF stock traded up $6.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $122.08. The company had a trading volume of 1,108,070 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,633. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.59. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $21.74 and a fifty-two week high of $140.28. The company has a market capitalization of $6.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.22.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The apparel retailer reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.14. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 38.80% and a net margin of 7.67%. The company had revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ANF. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 target price (up previously from $140.00) on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Argus upped their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $97.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com raised shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $100.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total value of $44,244,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,520 shares in the company, valued at approximately $58,127,767.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Scott D. Lipesky sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.95, for a total transaction of $4,478,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,558 shares in the company, valued at $11,330,996.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Fran Horowitz sold 400,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.61, for a total transaction of $44,244,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $58,127,767.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 558,786 shares of company stock worth $64,340,812 in the last three months. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co, through its subsidiaries, operates as an omnichannel retailer in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. The company offers an assortment of apparel, personal care products, and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister, and Gilly Hicks brands.