VF (NYSE:VFC) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $23.87 and last traded at $23.63, with a volume of 272873 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $23.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of VF from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on VF from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. OTR Global raised VF from a “mixed” rating to a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on VF from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of VF from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VF presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.63.

VF Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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

VF Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. VF’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -20.81%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On VF

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of VF by 28.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 11,822,885 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $159,609,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,852 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in VF by 1,365.2% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 727,148 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after purchasing an additional 677,519 shares in the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. boosted its stake in VF by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 3,057,884 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $41,281,000 after purchasing an additional 673,979 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of VF by 3,350.1% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 486,082 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $6,562,000 after buying an additional 471,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of VF by 127.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 62,046 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $878,000 after purchasing an additional 286,878 shares during the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.