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

V.F. Co. (NYSE:VFC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 33,391 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,165 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VFC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of V.F. by 1.2% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 41,239,841 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $728,708,000 after purchasing an additional 475,239 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in V.F. by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 23,758,761 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $419,817,000 after acquiring an additional 257,992 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of V.F. during the first quarter worth about $200,768,000. M&G Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of V.F. by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. M&G Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,413,169 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $235,850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of V.F. by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,281,957 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $80,501,000 after purchasing an additional 473,952 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

V.F. Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE VFC opened at $12.34 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of -4.94, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.84. V.F. has a 12 month low of $11.00 and a 12 month high of $21.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.24 and a 200-day moving average of $15.62.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The textile maker reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.34). V.F. had a negative net margin of 9.27% and a positive return on equity of 13.14%. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that V.F. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio is -14.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on VFC. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of V.F. from $13.00 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of V.F. from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of V.F. from $12.50 to $11.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of V.F. from $13.00 to $11.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $13.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $13.44.

V.F. Company Profile

V.F. Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and related products for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work.