V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) Short Interest Up 768.0% in July

Key Points

• V.F. Corporation experienced a significant rise in short interest, increasing by 768.0% in July, bringing the total short interest to 33.68 million shares.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of ($0.24) earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with revenue of $1.76 billion, a decrease of 7.3% year-over-year.
• V.F. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, marking an annualized dividend of $0.36 and a yield of 3.1%.

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 33,680,000 shares, anincreaseof768.0% from the June 30th total of 3,880,000 shares. Currently,9.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 8,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Currently,9.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

V.F. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE VFC opened at $11.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.66. The stock's 50-day moving average is $12.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $16.03. V.F. has a 1-year low of $9.41 and a 1-year high of $29.02.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The textile maker reported ($0.24) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. V.F. had a negative net margin of 0.50% and a positive return on equity of 22.77%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that V.F. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. V.F.'s payout ratio is -276.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VFC shares. KGI Securities started coverage on shares of V.F. in a research report on Thursday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $14.80 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on V.F. from $25.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BNP Paribas Exane cut V.F. from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $14.00 price objective on shares of V.F. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of V.F. from $28.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, V.F. currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at V.F.

In related news, EVP Abhishek Dalmia acquired 50,000 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.78 per share, for a total transaction of $589,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 380,614 shares in the company, valued at $4,483,632.92. This represents a 15.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Bracken Darrell bought 85,840 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.73 per share, with a total value of $1,006,903.20. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 295,406 shares in the company, valued at $3,465,112.38. This represents a 40.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 185,840 shares of company stock worth $2,198,403. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VFC. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in V.F. by 94.8% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 2,421 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in V.F. during the first quarter worth approximately $350,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in V.F. during the first quarter worth approximately $749,000. Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in V.F. by 46.2% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 152,410 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 48,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in V.F. by 11.1% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 277,442 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $4,306,000 after purchasing an additional 27,727 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.84% of the company's stock.

V.F. Company Profile

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.

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