Short Interest in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Expands By 8.4%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,510,000 shares, an increase of 8.4% from the October 31st total of 4,160,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,830,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.5 days. Approximately 9.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 8,605 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.20, for a total transaction of $1,292,471.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 97,850 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,697,070. This represents a 8.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Helen Mccluskey sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.38, for a total transaction of $487,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 37,470 shares in the company, valued at $5,222,568.60. This represents a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,072 shares of company stock worth $5,161,597. Insiders own 2.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 81.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 274 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 604.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 317 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 156.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 279 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 242.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 531 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ANF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $194.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup upgraded Abercrombie & Fitch from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $190.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $147.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.14.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

Abercrombie & Fitch stock traded up $3.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $158.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 726,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,395. Abercrombie & Fitch has a one year low of $75.69 and a one year high of $196.99. The stock has a market cap of $8.09 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average of $144.57 and a 200-day moving average of $154.13.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The apparel retailer reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.32 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.52 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.