Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Short Interest Update

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,270,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the June 30th total of 3,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,700,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 8.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANF has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $193.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $112.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Argus lowered shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $155.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Abercrombie & Fitch has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $178.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total transaction of $223,093.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,066.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, Director James A. Goldman sold 4,120 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.48, for a total value of $727,097.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,565 shares in the company, valued at $1,335,071.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kenneth B. Robinson sold 1,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.61, for a total value of $223,093.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 5,880 shares in the company, valued at $1,009,066.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 22,120 shares of company stock valued at $3,875,693 in the last ninety days. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,632,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 2,036.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 419,560 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $74,615,000 after acquiring an additional 399,922 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 4th quarter valued at $32,897,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 613.3% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 356,610 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,694,000 after acquiring an additional 306,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 45.3% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 454,550 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $56,969,000 after purchasing an additional 141,788 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE ANF traded up $1.56 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $149.04. The stock had a trading volume of 45,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,601. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $170.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.00. The firm has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35 and a beta of 1.54. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 52-week low of $38.53 and a 52-week high of $196.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The apparel retailer reported $2.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $967.37 million. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 44.83% and a net margin of 9.53%. The business’s revenue was up 22.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. Analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.