V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Shares Climb 3.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) traded up 3.7% on Monday after Piper Sandler upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to an overweight rating. Piper Sandler now has a $20.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $16.00. V.F. traded as high as $15.57 and last traded at $15.5580. 1,982,364 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 7,306,871 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.00.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on VFC. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of V.F. in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of V.F. in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Evercore set a $16.00 price objective on shares of V.F. in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of V.F. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of V.F. in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a “hold” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $17.92.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Richard Carucci bought 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.73 per share, with a total value of $294,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 356,215 shares in the company, valued at $5,247,046.95. This trade represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Bracken Darrell purchased 32,894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $492,752.12. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,402,109 shares in the company, valued at $21,003,592.82. The trade was a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

V.F. News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting V.F. this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgraded VFC to Overweight from Neutral, signaling increased confidence in the company’s recovery potential and supporting the stock’s upward momentum. Piper Sandler upgrades VF to overweight from neutral
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays expressed optimism that VFC’s turnaround remains undervalued. The view suggests investors may not yet be fully pricing in potential improvements in the company’s brands, operations and financial performance. V.F. rises on Barclays optimism
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded VFC to Neutral from Underweight, removing a bearish stance and helping improve sentiment toward the stock. The upgrade indicates reduced downside concerns, even though it does not represent a bullish rating. JP Morgan upgrades VF to neutral from underweight
• Positive Sentiment: Recent gains occurred on above-average volume, while earnings-estimate revisions have shown signs of improvement, potentially indicating stronger investor interest and expectations for additional upside. Strength seen in V.F.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stifel Nicolaus maintained its Hold rating. The decision provides no new positive catalyst and underscores that some analysts remain cautious about the pace and durability of VFC’s turnaround. Stifel Nicolaus maintains Hold rating

Hedge Funds Weigh In On V.F.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in V.F. in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,038,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in V.F. by 298.1% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 1,782,904 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $29,739,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,057 shares during the last quarter. Varenne Capital Partners acquired a new stake in V.F. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $13,671,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in V.F. during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,913,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LP lifted its position in V.F. by 343.7% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 212,198 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $3,539,000 after acquiring an additional 164,369 shares during the period. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

V.F. Stock Up 1.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.19. The company has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The textile maker reported ($0.27) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.22) by ($0.05). V.F. had a return on equity of 18.91% and a net margin of 2.88%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.24) EPS. V.F.’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that V.F. Corporation will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

V.F. Company Profile

V.F. Corporation (NYSE: VFC) is a global apparel, footwear and accessories company. Its portfolio includes well-known outdoor, active and workwear brands such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland and Dickies, which offer products ranging from outdoor clothing and hiking footwear to casual apparel, skate shoes and workwear.

The company sells its products through wholesale customers, brand-operated stores, e-commerce platforms and other digital channels. V.F. serves consumers in markets worldwide, with operations and distribution spanning North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and other international regions.

Founded in 1899 as a manufacturer of gloves and mittens, the company later expanded into apparel and became known as Vanity Fair Mills before adopting the V.F.