Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Earnings Beat

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. Approximately 961,803 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 1,677,701 shares.The stock last traded at $148.27 and had previously closed at $154.50.

The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.19. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 10.76% and a return on equity of 47.35%. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ANF. Citigroup upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Samir Desai sold 19,041 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.36, for a total value of $2,501,225.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 27,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,676,109.60. The trade was a 40.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch 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 sale, the director now owns 37,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold a total of 31,541 shares of company stock worth $4,310,256 over the last three months. 2.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 45.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 454,550 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,969,000 after acquiring an additional 141,788 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 34.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 57,699 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $7,231,000 after acquiring an additional 14,736 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 209.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 48,648 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $6,097,000 after acquiring an additional 32,915 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the first quarter valued at approximately $674,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 64.4% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 26,944 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,377,000 after buying an additional 10,556 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Down 4.0 %

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $143.13 and a 200 day moving average of $153.46. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.50.

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.