VF (NYSE:VFC) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $23.42 and last traded at $23.24, with a volume of 2258785 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VFC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of VF from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Argus raised VF from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $25.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on VF from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded VF from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on VF from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.11.

VF Trading Up 3.5 %

The company has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a PE ratio of -13.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $20.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $17.64.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The textile maker reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. VF had a negative net margin of 6.68% and a positive return on equity of 12.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that VF Corporation will post 0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

VF Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th will be given a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 10th. VF’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in VF by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,822,885 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $159,609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,852 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of VF by 2.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,125,417 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $55,694,000 after purchasing an additional 113,128 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in VF by 1.8% in the 3rd 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. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. raised its position in VF by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,057,884 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,281,000 after buying an additional 673,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in VF by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,481,600 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $33,502,000 after acquiring an additional 473,373 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

VF Company Profile

V.F. Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, procurement, marketing, and distribution of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear, and accessories for men, women, and children in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Outdoor, Active, and Work.