Traders Buy High Volume of V.F. Put Options (NYSE:VFC)

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 40,284 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 191% compared to the average daily volume of 13,830 put options.

V.F. Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:VFC opened at $16.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $19.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.13. V.F. has a 52-week low of $9.41 and a 52-week high of $21.92.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The textile maker reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. V.F. had a net margin of 2.33% and a return on equity of 19.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. Analysts expect that V.F. will post 0.73 EPS for the current year.

V.F. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial set a $18.00 price target on V.F. in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Argus raised V.F. to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of V.F. in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of V.F. from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of V.F. in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, V.F. currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $18.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Juliana L. Chugg sold 6,678 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.30, for a total value of $142,241.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $852. This represents a 99.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in V.F. by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 4,938,084 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $71,257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495,148 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in V.F. by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 659,773 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,930,000 after purchasing an additional 81,006 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC grew its holdings in V.F. by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 647,496 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,707,000 after purchasing an additional 60,619 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in V.F. by 21.3% in the second quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 573,649 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,740,000 after buying an additional 100,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in V.F. by 115.2% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 113,951 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 60,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

About V.F.

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.