Nomura Securities Maintains a 'Neutral' on Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF); Hitting The Brakes

Nomura Securities maintains a 'Neutral' on Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) price target of $34.00.

Analyst, Paul Lejuez, said, "ANF is hitting the brakes on growth by slowing European mall store expansion and halting flagship openings beyond current commitments. While slowing growth is right for the business near term, there is a downside - ANF’s performance burden falls on its comp (which is moving in the wrong direction). With 3Q expected to show deleverage and EPS to be around flattish vs. LY, this puts all the pressure on 4Q to hit F12 guidance of $2.50-$2.75. We estimate ANF needs to achieve ~$1.70 in 4Q to hit the low end of guidance (vs. cons of $1.66)...If our estimates prove true, this implies EBIT dollars down slightly in F13 vs. F12 with some help from share repo to get back to a flattish EPS vs. F12. We have a hard time awarding a much higher multiple to this set of results, in our view. We continue to prefer AEO, which trades at a similar multiple and FCF yield."

"Our F12E is unchanged at $2.50, but we are reducing our F13E from $2.77 to $2.51."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Abercrombie & Fitch click here. For more ratings news on Abercrombie & Fitch click here.

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch closed at $35.23 yesterday.

---

Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

---

You May Also Be Interested In

• Freedom Broker Upgrades PrimeEnergy Resource (PNRG) to Hold
• RCM Technologies (RCMT) PT Raised to $45 at Benchmark on Q2 Beat
• Stifel on EyePoint Inc. (EYPT): 'we think these data bode well for LUCIA (expected October) barring another unusual asymmetry'