V.F. Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:VFC)

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 20,552 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 125% compared to the typical volume of 9,117 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VFC. Seaport Research Partners raised V.F. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $24.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. UBS Group cut their target price on V.F. from $20.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on V.F. from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on V.F. in a report on Thursday, May 21st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. Finally, Williams Trading set a $19.00 price target on shares of V.F. in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.58.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Carucci bought 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $17.17 per share, for a total transaction of $515,100.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 336,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,769,858.31. This trade represents a 9.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VFC. Optimize Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of V.F. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 40,379 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $730,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in V.F. by 27.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,694 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in V.F. by 282.9% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,052 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in V.F. by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,987 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in V.F. by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,167 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

V.F. Stock Performance

Shares of VFC opened at $16.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.21. The firm has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a PE ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.56. V.F. has a 12-month low of $11.10 and a 12-month high of $22.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The textile maker reported ($0.30) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.28). V.F. had a net margin of 2.65% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.13) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that V.F. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 10th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio is 56.25%.

About V.F.

VF Corporation, commonly branded as VF, is a global apparel and footwear company that develops, markets and distributes a diverse portfolio of consumer brands. Its offerings span outdoor and action sports apparel, footwear and accessories under marquee names such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies, JanSport and Smartwool. Through a “house of brands” strategy, VF leverages the unique heritage and design expertise of each label to serve distinct lifestyle and performance segments.

Founded in 1899 in Pennsylvania as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company, VF evolved through a series of acquisitions and strategic expansions to become a leading player in the global apparel industry.