Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) to Repurchase $1.30 billion in Outstanding Stock

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE:ANF opened at $86.16 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 8.52 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $122.35 and its 200 day moving average is $137.56. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 12 month low of $79.77 and a 12 month high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by $0.09. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.57 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ANF. Citigroup dropped their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on 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. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Abercrombie & Fitch currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.75.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.