V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

Shares of V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $21.23, but opened at $20.44. V.F. shares last traded at $19.6990, with a volume of 825,668 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VFC. KGI Securities set a $14.50 target price on shares of V.F. and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on V.F. from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded V.F. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on V.F. in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.16.

V.F. Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.74. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.54, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.65.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The textile maker reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.15. V.F. had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 2.33%.The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that V.F. Corporation will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Juliana L. Chugg sold 6,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total transaction of $142,241.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $852. This represents a 99.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VFC. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 4,938,084 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $71,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,148 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of V.F. by 104.7% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 567,886 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,673,000 after purchasing an additional 290,444 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its position in shares of V.F. by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 586,877 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $8,469,000 after purchasing an additional 105,786 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of V.F. by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 573,649 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,740,000 after buying an additional 100,680 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in V.F. by 115.2% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,951 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 60,998 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.