V.F. (NYSE:VFC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of V.F. (NYSE:VFC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $20.00 target price on the textile maker’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of V.F. in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of V.F. from $19.00 to $17.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $15.00 target price on shares of V.F. in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of V.F. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of V.F. from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $17.92.

V.F. Stock Up 1.5%

V.F. stock opened at $16.03 on Tuesday. V.F. has a twelve month low of $12.45 and a twelve month high of $22.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.56.

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

V.F. Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at V.F.

In related news, insider Bracken Darrell bought 32,894 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.98 per share, for a total transaction of $492,752.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 1,402,109 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,003,592.82. This trade represents a 2.40% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Richard Carucci purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $14.73 per share, for a total transaction of $294,600.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 356,215 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,247,046.95. This trade represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of V.F.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VFC. Krilogy Financial LLC grew its position in V.F. by 33.0% during the third quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 44,588 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 11,068 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of V.F. by 25.1% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 27,025 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 5,417 shares during the period. Riversedge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of V.F. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $171,000. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new stake in shares of V.F. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Finally, LifeGoal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of V.F. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $191,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

Key V.F. News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial upgraded V.F. Corporation from “hold” to “strong buy” and set a $20 price target, implying approximately 24.8% upside from the referenced $16.03 price. Truist upgrades V.F. to strong buy
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler raised VFC from “neutral” to “overweight,” adding to the bullish analyst momentum surrounding the company’s restructuring and recovery prospects. Piper Sandler upgrades V.F.
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays expressed optimism that V.F.’s turnaround remains undervalued, while recent above-average trading volume and favorable earnings-estimate revisions suggest the rally could continue. Barclays optimism on V.F.’s turnaround Zacks analysis of V.F. share strength
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan upgraded VFC from “underweight” to “neutral,” reducing a significant source of bearish pressure even though the firm stopped short of recommending a buy. JPMorgan upgrades V.F.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains mixed: Stifel Nicolaus maintained its “hold” rating, and other sell-side brokerages continue to rate VFC a hold. Stifel maintains hold rating on V.F.

About V.F.

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.