Abercrombie & Fitch Shares Higher After Hedge Fund Urges Buyback

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. rose more than 2% late Tuesday after hedge fund SLS Capital Management LLC made public a letter to the retailer's board of directors urging a share buyback and other measures to lift the stock. The board hasn't been "aggressive enough" in maximizing shareholder value, SLS said in the letter, which goes on to mention earlier letters to Abercrombie as well as meetings with management to urge a "Plan B" for the company. Given the current conditions, Abercrombie should be buying back stock and reducing its share count, it said. There's "a time in every company's life for buybacks and a time for dividends. With the stock trading at current valuations and a margin of safety from the value of non-core assets, this is the time for buybacks," SLS said. Abercrombie shares ended the regular session up 0.1%.