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

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 44,548 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 164% compared to the typical volume of 16,891 put options.

Insider Activity at V.F.

In other V.F. news, EVP Abhishek Dalmia acquired 50,000 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.78 per share, with a total value of $589,000.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president owned 380,614 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,483,632.92. This trade represents a 15.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Bracken Darrell acquired 85,840 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $11.73 per share, with a total value of $1,006,903.20. Following the purchase, the insider owned 295,406 shares in the company, valued at $3,465,112.38. The trade was a 40.96% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 185,840 shares of company stock valued at $2,198,403. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of V.F.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in V.F. by 16.4% in the first quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 298,596 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $4,634,000 after acquiring an additional 42,065 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in V.F. by 11.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 928,753 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,414,000 after acquiring an additional 92,174 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in V.F. by 46.2% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 152,410 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 48,151 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in V.F. in the first quarter valued at about $350,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in V.F. by 1,355.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 404,405 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,276,000 after buying an additional 376,615 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VFC has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $25.00 to $12.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of V.F. from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of V.F. in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of V.F. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.42.

V.F. Stock Performance

NYSE:VFC opened at $12.74 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.48, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.36 and its 200-day moving average is $16.19. V.F. has a 52-week low of $9.41 and a 52-week high of $29.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.40.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The textile maker reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.34) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. V.F. had a negative net margin of 1.97% and a positive return on equity of 20.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that V.F. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. V.F.’s payout ratio is currently -72.00%.

V.F. Company Profile

VF Corp. engages in the business of producing and marketing apparel, footwear, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Outdoor, Active, Work, and Other. The Outdoor segment includes authentic outdoor-based lifestyle brands such as performance-based and outdoor apparel, footwear, and equipment.