Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Empowered Funds LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,407 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 3,973 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $8,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ANF. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 873,148 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,281,000 after buying an additional 120,509 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 146.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 863,100 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $153,494,000 after buying an additional 512,700 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 18.1% during the second quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 502,400 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $89,347,000 after buying an additional 76,900 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 4.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 460,613 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $81,915,000 after purchasing an additional 20,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 45.3% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 454,550 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $56,969,000 after acquiring an additional 141,788 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ANF opened at $144.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.33. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a 12 month low of $65.60 and a 12 month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.36. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 47.35% and a net margin of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on ANF shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $147.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.43.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total transaction of $2,501,225.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 27,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,676,109.60. The trade was a 40.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total value of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,222,568.60. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,256. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

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.