Traders Buy High Volume of Put Options on V.F. (NYSE:VFC)

V.F. Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 126,764 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of 1,135% compared to the typical volume of 10,267 put options.

Insider Transactions at V.F.

In other V.F. news, Director Richard Carucci acquired 20,000 shares of V.F. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.73 per share, for a total transaction of $294,600.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 356,215 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,247,046.95. This represents a 5.95% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Bracken Darrell purchased 32,894 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 31st. The shares were bought at an average price of $14.98 per share, with a total value of $492,752.12. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 1,402,109 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,003,592.82. The trade was a 2.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased a total of 82,894 shares of company stock valued at $1,302,452 over the last ninety days. 1.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On V.F.

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of V.F. by 1,573.0% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 6,423,735 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $107,148,000 after acquiring an additional 6,039,772 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of V.F. in the second quarter worth about $42,038,000. Varenne Capital Partners bought a new stake in shares of V.F. in the second quarter worth about $13,671,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in V.F. by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 659,773 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $11,930,000 after purchasing an additional 81,006 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in V.F. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 540,861 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,779,000 after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.84% of the company’s stock.

V.F. Trading Up 1.5%

VFC traded up $0.20 on Friday, hitting $13.34. 2,968,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,153,354. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.70, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.43. V.F. has a 12 month low of $12.94 and a 12 month high of $22.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.57.

V.F. (NYSE:VFC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. V.F. had a net margin of 2.88% and a return on equity of 18.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.24) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that V.F. will post 1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

V.F. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. V.F.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on V.F. from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of V.F. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of V.F. from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of V.F. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $16.00 target price on V.F. in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $18.21.

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.