V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Twenty brokerages give V.F. an average recommendation of Hold (3 sell, 13 hold, 3 buy, 1 strong buy) with a 12-month average price target of $18.47.
• V.F. beat last quarter's estimates, reporting $0.58 EPS vs. $0.43 expected and revenue of $2.88 billion vs. $2.81 billion, with revenue up 1.5% year-over-year.
• Shares opened at $21.46 (market cap ~$8.4B, PE 39.02), trading above the analyst consensus target, and the company pays a $0.09 quarterly dividend (annualized yield ~1.7%).

Shares of V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the twenty brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $18.4688.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on V.F. from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on V.F. from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of V.F. in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Argus upgraded V.F. to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective (down from $19.00) on shares of V.F. in a research report on Monday, February 23rd.

V.F. Price Performance

NYSE VFC opened at $21.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 39.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business's fifty day moving average is $18.32 and its 200 day moving average is $17.71. V.F. has a fifty-two week low of $10.35 and a fifty-two week high of $22.27.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The textile maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. V.F. had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 2.33%.V.F.'s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that V.F. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. V.F.'s payout ratio is presently 65.45%.

Insider Activity at V.F.

In other news, Director Juliana L. Chugg sold 6,678 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $142,241.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40 shares in the company, valued at $852. The trade was a 99.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 50.1% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,465 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $108,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 3.1% in the third quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 33,440 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $483,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 115.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,951 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 60,998 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 32.8% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 75,555 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,090,000 after buying an additional 18,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of V.F. in the third quarter worth about $574,000. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

V.F. Company Profile

VF Corporation, commonly branded as VF, is a global apparel and footwear company that develops, markets and distributes a diverse portfolio of consumer brands. Its offerings span outdoor and action sports apparel, footwear and accessories under marquee names such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies, JanSport and Smartwool. Through a “house of brands” strategy, VF leverages the unique heritage and design expertise of each label to serve distinct lifestyle and performance segments.

Founded in 1899 in Pennsylvania as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company, VF evolved through a series of acquisitions and strategic expansions to become a leading player in the global apparel industry.

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