Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. Trims Position in Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF)

Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) by 61.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,700 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock after selling 32,600 shares during the quarter. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.’s holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch were worth $3,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,755,692 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $860,303,000 after purchasing an additional 53,999 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Abercrombie & Fitch by 150.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,484,643 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $221,910,000 after buying an additional 892,492 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Abercrombie & Fitch by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,229,875 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $183,829,000 after buying an additional 212,155 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Abercrombie & Fitch by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,037,773 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $155,116,000 after acquiring an additional 115,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 745,723 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $111,463,000 after acquiring an additional 147,779 shares during the period.

Abercrombie & Fitch Stock Performance

NYSE:ANF opened at $79.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has a fifty-two week low of $65.40 and a fifty-two week high of $196.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $111.80.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will post 10.62 EPS for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, March 5th that allows the company to repurchase $1.30 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the apparel retailer to purchase up to 29.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ANF shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $168.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Monday, April 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Abercrombie & Fitch from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.63.

Abercrombie & Fitch 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.