Traders Purchase Large Volume of VF Put Options (NYSE:VFC)

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors purchased 20,912 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,304 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VFC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on VF from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on VF from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on VF from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on VF from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of VF in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.90.

VF Stock Performance

NYSE:VFC opened at $16.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. VF has a 52-week low of $11.00 and a 52-week high of $29.02. The firm has a market cap of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.69, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.66 and its 200 day moving average is $21.17.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The textile maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. VF had a positive return on equity of 14.86% and a negative net margin of 4.63%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts predict that VF will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

VF Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. VF’s payout ratio is -30.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VF

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VFC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in VF by 1.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,663,341 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,084,000 after buying an additional 65,919 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its position in VF by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 256,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $5,505,000 after buying an additional 16,431 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in VF by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares in the last quarter. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. purchased a new position in VF during the fourth quarter worth about $1,878,000. Finally, CKW Financial Group grew its position in VF by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VF

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.