VF Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:VFC)

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders purchased 44,707 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 166% compared to the typical daily volume of 16,787 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of VF from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on VF from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $20.00) on shares of VF in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on VF from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of VF in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.70.

Institutional Trading of VF

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VFC. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in VF in the first quarter valued at approximately $350,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of VF by 16.4% during the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 298,596 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $4,634,000 after buying an additional 42,065 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of VF by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 928,753 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $14,414,000 after buying an additional 92,174 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of VF by 1,355.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 404,405 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $6,276,000 after buying an additional 376,615 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in VF by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,874,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $83,153,000 after acquiring an additional 211,440 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

VF Stock Performance

Shares of VFC opened at $11.10 on Thursday. VF has a 1 year low of $9.41 and a 1 year high of $29.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of -9.33, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.04.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The textile maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. VF had a negative net margin of 4.63% and a positive return on equity of 14.86%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that VF will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VF Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. VF’s dividend payout ratio is presently -30.25%.

About VF

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.