VF (NYSE:VFC) Shares Gap Down on Analyst Downgrade

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $14.43, but opened at $12.27. VF shares last traded at $12.67, with a volume of 5,247,164 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on VFC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on VF from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on VF from $24.00 to $13.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on VF from $28.00 to $15.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of VF from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of VF from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $16.21.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in VF by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of VF in the first quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of VF in the first quarter valued at approximately $749,000. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in VF by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 152,410 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,365,000 after buying an additional 48,151 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in VF by 11.1% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 277,442 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $4,306,000 after buying an additional 27,727 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VF Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $13.04 and a 200-day moving average of $19.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.67 billion, a PE ratio of -10.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.68.

VF (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The textile maker reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.01. VF had a negative net margin of 4.63% and a positive return on equity of 14.86%. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.32) earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that VF Corporation will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VF Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. VF's dividend payout ratio is currently -72.00%.

About VF

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.