VF (NYSE:VFC) Stock Price Up 5.5% - Here's What Happened

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC - Get Free Report) shares were up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $22.79 and last traded at $22.72. Approximately 2,011,755 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 3,776,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VFC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on VF from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of VF from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on VF from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on VF from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised VF from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $19.11.

VF Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.30.

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

VF Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. VF's payout ratio is -20.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On VF

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in VF by 5.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 187,196 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $2,527,000 after buying an additional 9,770 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in VF by 39.8% in the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 21,486 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 6,113 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in VF by 40.6% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 847,491 shares of the textile maker's stock valued at $11,441,000 after purchasing an additional 244,576 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in VF by 22.6% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,513 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $992,000 after purchasing an additional 13,556 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of VF by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 92,524 shares of the textile maker's stock worth $1,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,681 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.