Financial Review: V.F. (VFC) & Its Competitors

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) is one of 117 public companies in the “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods” industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare V.F. to similar businesses based on the strength of its risk, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.8% of V.F. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 54.4% of shares of all “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of V.F. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.1% of shares of all “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

V.F. pays an annual dividend of $0.36 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.8%. V.F. pays out 39.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods” companies pay a dividend yield of 3.5% and pay out 23.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. V.F. lags its peers as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio.

Risk & Volatility

V.F. has a beta of 1.49, indicating that its share price is 49% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, V.F.’s peers have a beta of 0.92, indicating that their average share price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for V.F. and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
V.F.	0	14	5	2	2.43
V.F. Competitors	1650	7638	10055	362	2.46

V.F. currently has a consensus price target of $18.33, suggesting a potential downside of 10.63%. As a group, “Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods” companies have a potential upside of 11.22%. Given V.F.’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe V.F. has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares V.F. and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
V.F.	3.93%	21.78%	4.14%
V.F. Competitors	-3.45%	12.79%	2.71%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares V.F. and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
V.F.	$9.61 billion	$254.92 million	22.30
V.F. Competitors	$5.64 billion	$471.75 million	25.04

V.F. has higher revenue, but lower earnings than its peers. V.F. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Summary

V.F. peers beat V.F. on 8 of the 15 factors compared.

About V.F.

VF Corp. engages in the business of producing and marketing apparel, footwear, and accessories. It operates through the following segments: Outdoor, Active, Work, and Other. The Outdoor segment includes authentic outdoor-based lifestyle brands such as performance-based and outdoor apparel, footwear, and equipment. The Active segment focuses on activity-based lifestyle brands including active apparel, footwear, backpacks, luggage, and accessories. The Work segment offers work and work-inspired lifestyle brands with product offerings including apparel, footwear, and accessories. The Other segment refers to the sale of non-VF products and sourcing activities related to transition services. The company was founded by John Barbey in October 1899 and is headquartered in Denver, CO.