V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $13.00 and last traded at $13.1320, with a volume of 3417039 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.44.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VFC shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of V.F. in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on V.F. from $24.00 to $23.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered V.F. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of V.F. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.21.

V.F. Trading Down 2.9%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The textile maker reported ($0.27) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. V.F. had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 2.88%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that V.F. Corporation will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at V.F.

In other V.F. news, Director Richard Carucci bought 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were bought at an average price of $17.17 per share, for a total transaction of $515,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 336,043 shares in the company, valued at $5,769,858.31. This trade represents a 9.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Bracken Darrell purchased 32,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $14.98 per share, with a total value of $492,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 1,402,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,003,592.82. This trade represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 82,894 shares of company stock worth $1,302,452. 1.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in V.F. in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,209,000. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of V.F. in the second quarter worth approximately $3,913,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of V.F. in the second quarter worth $42,038,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of V.F. by 395.1% in the second quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 71,209 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 56,827 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in V.F. during the 1st quarter valued at $815,000. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

V.F. Company Profile

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.