Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Shares Bought by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 680,930 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,493 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 1.35% of Abercrombie & Fitch worth $101,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ANF. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 56.2% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 367 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter valued at about $69,000.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ANF opened at $79.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.45. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a twelve month low of $74.31 and a twelve month high of $196.99. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $105.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $131.01.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ANF. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James set a $110.00 target price on Abercrombie & Fitch in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $160.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $189.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.88.

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.