V.F. Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:VFC)

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 22,249 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 45% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,366 put options.

Insider Transactions at V.F.

In related news, Director Juliana L. Chugg sold 6,678 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $142,241.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40 shares in the company, valued at $852. The trade was a 99.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VFC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of V.F. by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 659,773 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,930,000 after buying an additional 81,006 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in V.F. by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 90,873 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $1,643,000 after acquiring an additional 19,880 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of V.F. by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 540,861 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,779,000 after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of V.F. by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 40,379 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of V.F. by 151.6% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,915 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 4,167 shares during the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

V.F. Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:VFC opened at $20.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a PE ratio of 37.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.65. V.F. has a 52-week low of $9.41 and a 52-week high of $26.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The textile maker reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. V.F. had a return on equity of 19.08% and a net margin of 2.33%.The company’s revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.62 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that V.F. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VFC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of V.F. from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on V.F. from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on V.F. from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised V.F. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $20.00 target price on V.F. in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.22.

V.F. Company Profile

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.