Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Invests $12.41 Million in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 83,000 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $12,406,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. owned 0.16% of Abercrombie & Fitch as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,003 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 11,302 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,689,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 132.1% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 144,075 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $21,535,000 after acquiring an additional 81,996 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 4th quarter worth approximately $844,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC raised its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $173.00 to $220.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $201.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $180.00 to $165.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $149.00 to $139.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $182.25.

Insider Activity at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, EVP Samir Desai sold 5,926 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.51, for a total transaction of $880,070.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 22,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,275,982.09. The trade was a 21.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Suzanne M. Coulter sold 2,870 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $459,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,405 shares in the company, valued at $1,024,800. This trade represents a 30.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,631,741. Company insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock opened at $114.62 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.59 and a 200 day moving average of $143.84. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.59 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.