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

V.F. Co. (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 23,549 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 43% compared to the typical volume of 16,418 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VFC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of V.F. in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of V.F. from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of V.F. in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $17.00 to $14.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $22.00 price objective on shares of V.F. in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.97.

V.F. Price Performance

VFC stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $12.11. The company had a trading volume of 15,922,768 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,452,200. The company has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 1.47. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.46. V.F. has a 1-year low of $12.02 and a 1-year high of $23.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The textile maker reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. V.F. had a negative net margin of 7.07% and a positive return on equity of 19.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 16.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that V.F. will post 1.11 earnings per share for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. V.F.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -18.27%.

Insider Transactions at V.F.

In other news, insider Bracken Darrell bought 65,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.38 per share, with a total value of $1,005,236.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 144,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,219,041.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Bracken Darrell bought 65,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.38 per share, with a total value of $1,005,236.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 144,281 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,219,041.78. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Juliana L. Chugg bought 11,301 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.55 per share, with a total value of $198,332.55. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $461,582.55. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VFC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in V.F. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,239,841 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $728,708,000 after acquiring an additional 475,239 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox grew its position in V.F. by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 32,308,600 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $607,402,000 after acquiring an additional 192,850 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in V.F. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,758,761 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $419,817,000 after acquiring an additional 257,992 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in V.F. by 0.9% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,079,811 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $1,028,018,000 after acquiring an additional 161,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in V.F. by 97,005.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,843,788 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $437,447,000 after acquiring an additional 15,827,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.84% of the company's stock.

About V.F.

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