V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Stock Jumps 3.7% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• V.F. shares rose 3.7% to about $15.56 after JPMorgan upgraded the stock from underweight to neutral and set an $18 price target.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly cautious: V.F. has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $17.31, with 15 analysts rating it a hold.
• Insiders recently purchased shares, while institutional investors own 86.84% of the company. V.F. also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, equivalent to a 2.3% yield.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) shares shot up 3.7% during trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock from an underweight rating to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a $18.00 price target on the stock. V.F. traded as high as $15.57 and last traded at $15.5580. Approximately 1,982,364 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 7,306,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.00.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on VFC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of V.F. in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of V.F. from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of V.F. from $25.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of V.F. in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, V.F. currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $17.31.

Insider Transactions at V.F.

In related news, insider Bracken Darrell bought 32,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $492,752.12. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,402,109 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,003,592.82. This trade represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Carucci bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.73 per share, for a total transaction of $294,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 356,215 shares in the company, valued at $5,247,046.95. The trade was a 5.95% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VFC. Varenne Capital Partners purchased a new position in V.F. in the 2nd quarter worth $13,671,000. Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in V.F. by 343.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 212,198 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 164,369 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in V.F. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,913,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in V.F. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,457,000. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in V.F. during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,209,000. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

V.F. Stock Up 3.7%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $13.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.56.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The textile maker reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.22) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. V.F. had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.24) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that V.F. Corporation will post 1.08 earnings per share for the current year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. V.F.'s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

V.F. Company Profile

V.F. Corporation NYSE: VFC is a global apparel, footwear and accessories company. Its portfolio includes well-known outdoor, active and workwear brands such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland and Dickies, which offer products ranging from outdoor clothing and hiking footwear to casual apparel, skate shoes and workwear.

The company sells its products through wholesale customers, brand-operated stores, e-commerce platforms and other digital channels. V.F. serves consumers in markets worldwide, with operations and distribution spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international regions.

Founded in 1899 as a manufacturer of gloves and mittens, the company later expanded into apparel and became known as Vanity Fair Mills before adopting the V.F.

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