The U.S. consumer, the backbone of this economy, has been showing increasing strain over the last two years.The latest figures from the Commerce Department released this week showed retails sales barely grew in May.Here’s a summary from Bloomberg:The value of retail purchases, unadjusted for inflation, increased 0.1% after an downwardly revised 0.2% drop in the prior month, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. Excluding gasoline, sales rose 0.3%.The figures underscore a notable downshift in consumer spe ...

The Russell 2000 is a stock market index that comprises 2000 small and mid-cap stocks trading in the U.S. It is a solid gauge of the overall market’s performance regarding small and mid-sized companies.Investors should use the Russell 2000 as a resource if seeking to gain exposure to high-performing smaller companies which are growing into more reputable and prominent companies. Below are a number of stocks within the Russell 2000 index with market caps between $5 billion and $10 billion. These companies ha ...

Robert Way/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Another very strong quarter Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) reported its Q1 financial results in May. Earnings were very strong as revenue increased 22% to $1 billion. EPS came in at $2.14 from $0.34 a year ago and the company achieved a record 13% operating margin (vs. 4.1% last year). The market responded very positively to the results, as the stock is up more than 20% since the earnings release. Over the past year, Abercrombie's stock price has quadrupled i ...

ahlobystov/E+ via Getty Images The artificial intelligence frenzy helped send the S&P 500 to record highs about 30 times in 2024, led by the tech and communication sectors. The percentage of S&P 500 companies reporting positive earnings surprises rose about their 10-year averages in the year's first quarter, while analysts project earnings to rise +11% in CY 2024. With the boost from AI aiding some of the Quant Team’s Top 10 Stocks for 2024, up an average of +55% YTD, we’ve put together a top 10 list for ...

Every time a company splits its stock, one of the reasons it gives is that it makes its stock more accessible to smaller investors. Never mind that the advent of fractional shares enables these smaller investors to own a specific amount as low as a dollar for stock split candidates.   Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) announced May 22 that it was splitting its stock on a 10-for-1 basis. In the two weeks before the shares actually split on June 7, they jumped 27%. They gained another 9% in the week after. So, even if the ...

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is one of the stocks most watched by Zacks.com visitors lately. So, it might be a good idea to review some of the factors that might affect the near-term performance of the stock.Over the past month, shares of this teen clothing retailer have returned +28.3%, compared to the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +3.6% change. During this period, the Zacks Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, which Abercrombie falls in, has gained 5.5%. The key question now is: What could be the stock's future ...

Retail sales in the United States showed minimal growth in May, reflecting ongoing consumer struggles with high inflation and interest rates. The Commerce Department's report revealed that sales rose a modest 0.1% on a month-on-month basis, a slight improvement over the revised 0.2% decline seen in April. Despite this small increase, the year-over-year growth rate stood at 2.3%.May's retail sales inched up to $703.1 billion, indicating a subdued consumer environment. The modest rise was driven partly by a r ...

When investors had thoughts about what the best performing stocks were going to be, a clothing retailer like Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF, Financial) was probably not on many lists. However, it has significantly outperformed the Russell 2000 and S&P retail sector. ANF Data by GuruFocusWhy is the stock up so much?Back in May 2023, Abercrombie & Fitch was trading around $22 per share and reached a high of $196 a year later. It has since come back down to trading around $175 per share. Even with the recent pu ...

Large capitalization stocks have been getting all the attention in 2024. The S&P 500 Index is up 14% year-to-date (YTD), and the Nasdaq 100 has rallied 17%. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 Index of smaller companies is actually down fractionally YTD.Good reasons exist for this discrepancy. The major indexes are full of fast-growing tech companies that are enjoying record profits right now. Meanwhile, the Russell 2000 Index is full of companies in less glamorous industries such as regional banking, utilities and ...

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (ANF) is well-poised to tap the positive trends in the fashion arena, thanks to its digital endeavors and other robust strategies. The company has been gaining from brand strength and solid demand for its products that resonate well with customers. Undoubtedly, management is focused on creating a trend-right merchandise assortment, deepening relations with customers via marketing, enhancing the digital commerce agenda and efficiently controlling expenses.Buoyed by such strengths, sha ...