Short Interest in VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) Decreases By 23.7%

VF Corporation (NYSE:VFC) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,510,000 shares, a decrease of 23.7% from the March 15th total of 29,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days. Currently, 6.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on VFC. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of VF from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on VF from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on VF from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered VF from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $30.00 to $12.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of VF from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, VF currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.35.

VF Stock Down 1.1 %

VFC stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $10.33. 2,361,564 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,721,979. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.31, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.56. VF has a 1-year low of $9.41 and a 1-year high of $29.02. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.24. The firm has a market cap of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.68, a P/E/G ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 1.57.

VF (NYSE:VFC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The textile maker reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.28. VF had a positive return on equity of 14.86% and a negative net margin of 4.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that VF will post 0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

VF Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.48%. VF’s dividend payout ratio is presently -30.25%.

Institutional Trading of VF

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VFC. Fiduciary Alliance LLC raised its holdings in shares of VF by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 256,531 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $5,505,000 after purchasing an additional 16,431 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its stake in VF by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 6,017 shares of the textile maker’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 3,008 shares during the period. TB Alternative Assets Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of VF in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,878,000. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of VF by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 2,200 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of VF by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 3,874,781 shares of the textile maker’s stock worth $83,153,000 after acquiring an additional 211,440 shares during the last quarter. 86.84% of the stock is owned by 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.