VF (NYSE:VFC) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut VF from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $16.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on VF from $21.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of VF from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of VF in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “hold” rating and a $20.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of VF from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $19.63.

VF Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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

VF Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. VF’s dividend payout ratio is currently -20.81%.

Institutional Trading of VF

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its holdings in shares of VF by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,663,341 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $73,084,000 after purchasing an additional 65,919 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in VF by 90.7% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 202,723 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $2,737,000 after buying an additional 96,442 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new stake in VF during the 3rd quarter valued at $640,000. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of VF in the 2nd quarter valued at $436,000. Finally, Scientech Research LLC raised its position in shares of VF by 220.1% in the 2nd quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 93,861 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 64,541 shares in the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About VF

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.