Baird Financial Group Inc. Invests $20.04 Million in Abercrombie & Fitch Company $ANF

Baird Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 222,582 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $20,035,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Empirical Finance LLC bought a new stake in Abercrombie & Fitch in the second quarter worth about $669,000. Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch during the 2nd quarter valued at about $171,000. Corient Private Wealth LP boosted its position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 7,869 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $819,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 8,792.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,671,519 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $420,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,618,988 shares during the last quarter.

More Abercrombie & Fitch News

Here are the key news stories impacting Abercrombie & Fitch this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets upgraded ANF to “strong buy,” providing a fresh positive catalyst for the stock after its strong rally. Zacks analyst upgrade coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several future earnings estimates and maintained a “Strong Buy” rating. FY2027 EPS was increased to $11.48 from $10.54, FY2028 EPS to $12.29 from $11.62, and FY2029 EPS to $13.21 from $12.24. The firm also lifted Q2 2029 EPS expectations to $3.02 from $2.50. Abercrombie & Fitch analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: The retailer’s latest quarterly results showed strong earnings momentum: EPS of $4.17 substantially exceeded the $1.99 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $1.27 billion and grew 4.8% year over year. Full-year EPS guidance remains $13.10–$13.60.
• Positive Sentiment: ANF recently established a new one-year high, reinforcing technical momentum and investor confidence following the earnings beat and analyst upgrades. Abercrombie & Fitch new one-year high
• Neutral Sentiment: Some analyst views remain cautious despite the bullish revisions. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with a consensus price target of approximately $155.38, close to the stock’s recent trading range.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed a few estimates, including Q1 2028 EPS to $1.61 from $1.64 and Q1 2029 EPS to $1.72 from $1.76, signaling some potential near-term seasonality or margin pressure.
• Negative Sentiment: COO Scott Lipesky sold 2,000 shares for approximately $293,640. The sale reduced his holdings by 1.36%, a relatively small transaction but a modest negative sentiment signal. ANF COO stock sale
• Negative Sentiment: Weakness across several apparel retailers, including American Eagle, Macy’s and Zumiez, along with concerns about tariffs and consumer spending, may be limiting gains in the broader retail sector. Apparel retailer sector weakness

Insider Buying and Selling at Abercrombie & Fitch

In other Abercrombie & Fitch news, COO Scott D. Lipesky sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 152,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,541,410. This represents a 6.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jay Rust sold 5,000 shares of Abercrombie & Fitch stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.50, for a total transaction of $737,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,522.50. This represents a 24.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 72,800 shares of company stock worth $9,595,392 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 2.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $114.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Abercrombie & Fitch from $153.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Abercrombie & Fitch from $87.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Abercrombie & Fitch from $108.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.38.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

ANF opened at $145.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.97. Abercrombie & Fitch Company has a fifty-two week low of $65.45 and a fifty-two week high of $155.22. The business has a 50-day moving average of $113.21 and a 200-day moving average of $95.96.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The apparel retailer reported $4.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $2.18. The business had revenue of $1.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a return on equity of 33.52% and a net margin of 10.03%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.91 EPS. Abercrombie & Fitch has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.900-3.200 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 13.100-13.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch Company will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch Co is a global, omnichannel specialty retailer that sells casual apparel, accessories and personal-care products through company-operated stores and digital channels. The company serves customers through its Abercrombie, abercrombie kids, Hollister and Gilly Hicks brands, which target a range of consumers and lifestyles.

Abercrombie & Fitch offers products including jeans, tops, dresses, outerwear, intimates, sleepwear, swimwear, accessories and fragrances. Its brands operate through retail locations and e-commerce platforms, with sales across North America, Europe, Asia and other international markets.

Founded in 1892 as an outdoor-goods retailer in New York City, the company later developed into a youth-focused apparel retailer and has since broadened its brand portfolio and customer appeal.