V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Key Points

• V.F. Corporation's shares opened at $15.00 after reporting earnings of ($0.24) per share, outperforming estimates by $0.10.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.62%.
• Several analysts have reiterated or downgraded their ratings on V.F., with an average target price of $16.21 and a general consensus rating of "Hold."

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) shares gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $12.40, but opened at $15.00. V.F. shares last traded at $13.78, with a volume of 8,559,943 shares changing hands.

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 analyst estimates of $1.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.33) earnings per share. V.F.'s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lowered shares of V.F. from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $30.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of V.F. from $15.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets set a $15.00 target price on shares of V.F. and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $14.00 target price on shares of V.F. in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on V.F. from $18.00 to $12.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.04.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Bracken Darrell bought 85,840 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.73 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,903.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 295,406 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,465,112.38. This represents a 40.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Abhishek Dalmia bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $11.78 per share, for a total transaction of $589,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 380,614 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,483,632.92. The trade was a 15.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 185,840 shares of company stock worth $2,198,403 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in V.F. by 1,355.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 404,405 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $6,276,000 after purchasing an additional 376,615 shares during the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in V.F. by 61.1% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 481,091 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $5,653,000 after purchasing an additional 182,495 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in V.F. by 11.0% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 928,753 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $14,414,000 after purchasing an additional 92,174 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of V.F. during the first quarter valued at $749,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of V.F. by 46.2% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 152,410 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 48,151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.84% of the company's stock.

V.F. Trading Down 0.5%

The firm has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -89.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.35 and a 200 day moving average of $15.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.76.

About V.F.

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.