Needham & Company LLC Raises V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Price Target to $19.00

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC has raised the price target of V.F. Corp (NYSE:VFC) from $15.00 to $19.00, indicating a potential upside of 38.78% from its current price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• V.F. reported a quarterly loss of ($0.24) earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue of $1.76 billion, although this reflects a 7.3% decline year-over-year.
• Insider buying activity has increased, with notable purchases made by Director Richard Carucci and EVP Abhishek Dalmia, who acquired shares at average prices around $12.05 and $11.78, respectively.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC - Free Report) had its price target upped by Needham & Company LLC from $15.00 to $19.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the textile maker's stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on VFC. UBS Group raised their target price on V.F. from $12.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BNP Paribas reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of V.F. in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup cut V.F. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $30.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of V.F. from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.04.

V.F. Stock Performance

VFC traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.73. 5,126,184 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,770,431. V.F. has a one year low of $9.41 and a one year high of $29.02. The stock's fifty day moving average is $12.35 and its 200 day moving average is $16.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76. The firm has a market cap of $4.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -90.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.66.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.35) by $0.11. V.F. had a negative net margin of 0.50% and a positive return on equity of 22.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.33) EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that V.F. will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 10th will be issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. V.F.'s dividend payout ratio is presently -72.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Abhishek Dalmia purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired 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 directly owned 380,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,483,632.92. This trade represents a 15.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Carucci purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $12.05 per share, with a total value of $602,500.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 280,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,377,398.10. The trade was a 21.71% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 185,840 shares of company stock worth $2,198,403. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in V.F. by 94.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 2,421 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of V.F. in the 1st quarter valued at $350,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of V.F. during the 1st quarter valued at $749,000. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in V.F. by 46.2% in the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 152,410 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,365,000 after purchasing an additional 48,151 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted 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 worth $4,306,000 after purchasing an additional 27,727 shares during the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.