VF (NYSE:VFC) Shares Gap Up to $18.40

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $18.40, but opened at $19.35. VF shares last traded at $19.61, with a volume of 410,367 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VFC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised shares of VF from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $11.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of VF from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $19.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of VF from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $13.00 price objective on shares of VF in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on VF from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, VF presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.19.

VF Trading Up 5.8 %

The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.84, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.82 and a 200-day moving average of $14.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.99.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The textile maker reported ($0.33) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. VF had a positive return on equity of 11.75% and a negative net margin of 11.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.15) EPS. Analysts anticipate that VF Corporation will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VF Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. VF’s payout ratio is currently -14.40%.

Insider Activity at VF

In other news, Director Richard Carucci purchased 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.70 per share, with a total value of $250,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 230,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,843,972.60. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of VF

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in VF by 22.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,241,702 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $60,951,000 after buying an additional 590,434 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of VF by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,920 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 4,865 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in VF by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,134 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,140 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its holdings in VF by 785.5% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 62,420 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 55,371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in VF in the 4th quarter worth about $76,059,000. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.