V.F. Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:VFC)

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 59,340 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 327% compared to the typical daily volume of 13,908 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $21.00 price target on shares of V.F. in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of V.F. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. KGI Securities set a $14.50 price target on shares of V.F. and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of V.F. from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of V.F. from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $16.84.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of V.F. by 94.8% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,975 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 2,421 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of V.F. by 158.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 56,904 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 34,915 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of V.F. by 134.8% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 52,953 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 30,405 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its stake in shares of V.F. by 30.7% during the second quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,442,936 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $40,454,000 after acquiring an additional 808,474 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in V.F. by 104.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 567,886 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,673,000 after purchasing an additional 290,444 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

V.F. Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE:VFC traded up $0.17 on Monday, hitting $19.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,968,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,172,827. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.50. V.F. has a 1-year low of $9.41 and a 1-year high of $29.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.62, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.66.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.42 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.73 billion. V.F. had a net margin of 0.95% and a return on equity of 20.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that V.F. will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 10th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. V.F.’s payout ratio is 163.64%.

About V.F.

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.