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

V.F. Co. (NYSE:VFC – Get Rating) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors purchased 37,539 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 167% compared to the average daily volume of 14,072 put options.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Carol L. Roberts acquired 7,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.07 per share, with a total value of $149,786.63. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 7,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,786.63. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VFC. Empower Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in V.F. in the first quarter worth $5,654,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in V.F. by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,428,512 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $32,727,000 after purchasing an additional 37,624 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in V.F. by 28.7% during the 1st quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,112 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,477 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in V.F. by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 958,522 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $21,960,000 after purchasing an additional 349,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in V.F. by 1.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 48,039 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,101,000 after buying an additional 836 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 96.89% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Edward Jones raised shares of V.F. from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on V.F. from $26.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday. Williams Trading raised V.F. from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on V.F. from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on V.F. from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.42.

V.F. Stock Down 4.9 %

VFC stock opened at $17.45 on Friday. V.F. has a fifty-two week low of $17.43 and a fifty-two week high of $51.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.44. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $21.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.15.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 23rd. The textile maker reported $0.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.14 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. V.F. had a return on equity of 25.10% and a net margin of 1.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that V.F. will post 2.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 12th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 9th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.88%. V.F.’s payout ratio is 387.11%.

About V.F.

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VF Corp. designs, produces, procures, markets and distributes lifestyle apparel, footwear and related products. It operates through the following segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work. The Outdoor segment refers to authentic outdoor-based lifestyle brands including performance-based apparel, footwear, equipment, backpacks, luggage and accessories.