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

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors purchased 20,912 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 37% compared to the typical volume of 15,304 put options.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VFC. CKW Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of VF by 29.4% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in VF by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $129,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the period. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of VF during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,878,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in shares of VF by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 256,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,505,000 after purchasing an additional 16,431 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in VF by 1.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,663,341 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $73,084,000 after buying an additional 65,919 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

VF Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:VFC opened at $16.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.96, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.46. VF has a 52 week low of $11.00 and a 52 week high of $29.02. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.57 and a 200 day moving average of $21.16.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The textile maker reported $0.62 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 previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that VF will post 0.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

VF Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. VF’s payout ratio is currently -30.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on VFC shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of VF from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of VF from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Argus upgraded VF from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on VF from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of VF in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, VF presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.90.

VF Company Profile

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.