Empirical Finance LLC Boosts Holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 87.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,818 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,108 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $1,318,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 39.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 788 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of ANF opened at $114.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 1.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $139.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.34. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $104.34 and a twelve month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 46.50% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on ANF. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $182.25.

Insider Transactions at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This trade represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,024,800. This represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,401 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,741 in the last ninety days. 2.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.