Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF – Get Rating) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ANF. Argus downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $24.00 to $33.00 in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.75.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE ANF traded up $1.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.95. 2,343,703 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,733,775. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.79 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.44. Abercrombie & Fitch has a twelve month low of $14.02 and a twelve month high of $31.69.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 24th. The apparel retailer reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $836.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $814.93 million. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 0.96% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The business’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.27) EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 1.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 445.1% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,549,428 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,497,000 after buying an additional 1,265,202 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 172.1% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 1,843,459 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $42,234,000 after buying an additional 1,165,872 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,308.2% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 973,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $22,307,000 after buying an additional 933,244 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 149.9% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,121,848 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $18,982,000 after buying an additional 672,933 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 1,811,477 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $28,168,000 after buying an additional 590,747 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. It offers apparel products, including knit tops, woven shirts, graphic t-shirts, fleece, sweaters, jeans, woven pants, shorts, outerwear, dresses, intimates and swimwear, and personal care products and accessories for men, women, and kids under the Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks brands.