Williams Trading Upgrades V.F. (NYSE:VFC) to Strong-Buy

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Williams Trading from a “strong sell” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on VFC. Citigroup reduced their target price on V.F. from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating and set a $18.00 target price (down from $19.00) on shares of V.F. in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of V.F. in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on V.F. from $15.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “cautious” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $20.00 target price on V.F. in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $18.69.

V.F. Price Performance

V.F. stock opened at $16.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99. V.F. has a 12-month low of $11.06 and a 12-month high of $22.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.62. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.17.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fiduciary Alliance LLC boosted its stake in shares of V.F. by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 647,496 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $11,707,000 after acquiring an additional 60,619 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its stake in shares of V.F. by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 4,938,084 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $71,257,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495,148 shares during the period. Optimize Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of V.F. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $574,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of V.F. by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,987 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of V.F. by 705.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 3,282 shares during the period. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

V.F. Company Profile

VF Corporation, commonly branded as VF, is a global apparel and footwear company that develops, markets and distributes a diverse portfolio of consumer brands. Its offerings span outdoor and action sports apparel, footwear and accessories under marquee names such as The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies, JanSport and Smartwool. Through a “house of brands” strategy, VF leverages the unique heritage and design expertise of each label to serve distinct lifestyle and performance segments.

Founded in 1899 in Pennsylvania as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company, VF evolved through a series of acquisitions and strategic expansions to become a leading player in the global apparel industry.