Hardly for the first time in the recent past, VF Corp (VFC 0.16%) was socked with an analyst's price-target cut on Wednesday. That fresh blow stopped the clothing and footwear purveyor's share price from reaching the level of the benchmark S&P 500 index. It ticked only marginally higher and was outpaced by the index's barely over 1% gain.
Another day, another analyst's price-target cut
Well before market open that day, Goldman Sachs pundit Brooke Roach took an axe to her VF Corp price target. She now believes the stock is worth $19 per share, notably down from her previous estimation of $24. She isn't quite out of the bullpen for the company just yet, as she maintained her buy recommendation despite the chop.
Roach's move is the latest in a series of revised (and more negative) analyst takes on VF Corp. One researcher, Williams Trading, went as far as to reduce its recommendation on the stock to hold; previously, it tagged the shares with a buy.
The immediate catalyst for this trend, as often occurs with stocks, was VF Corp's latest earnings release. On Monday after hours, the company unveiled its second quarter of fiscal 2024 earnings, which were met with palpable disappointment by investors. It missed the consensus analyst estimate on non-GAAP (adjusted) net profit while posting slightly lower revenue on a year-over-year basis.
A quarter to forget
But these transgressions weren't the only misfires from VF Corp. The company also cut its dividend and withdrew its revenue and profitability guidance for the entirety of its fiscal 2024. Compounding that, it significantly reduced its projection for free cash flow for the year -- it now expects this will be around $600 million, as opposed to the previous estimate of roughly $900 million.
