StockNews.com Upgrades VF (NYSE:VFC) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of VF (NYSE:VFC) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on VF from $12.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Citigroup upgraded VF from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $11.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on VF from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on VF from $13.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on VF from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, VF currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.18.

VF Stock Up 27.0 %

Shares of VFC opened at $21.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $15.64. VF has a 1 year low of $11.00 and a 1 year high of $21.93.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. VF had a positive return on equity of 11.75% and a negative net margin of 11.39%. VF’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that VF will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VF Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. VF’s payout ratio is currently -11.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Richard Carucci acquired 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.70 per share, for a total transaction of $250,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 230,178 shares in the company, valued at $3,843,972.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in VF by 328.0% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,623,875 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $21,922,000 after purchasing an additional 1,244,448 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in VF by 90.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 202,723 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 96,442 shares during the last quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in VF in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,668,000. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of VF during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $436,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC increased its holdings in shares of VF by 220.1% during the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 93,861 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 64,541 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

About VF

V.F. Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work.