UPDATE: JP Morgan Initiates VF Corporation with Overweight, $167 PT on Long Term Consistency

JP Morgan initiates its coverage on VF Corporation

with an Overweight rating and a price target of $167. JP Morgan notes, "We view VFC as a core multi-year investment given a strong diversified brand portfolio (North Face, Timberland), best-in-class management, and a level of consistency that is hard to match today. In our view, VFC is well positioned for both the near term (brand equity, 2H jeanswear margin recovery, Timberland benefit) and long term given LT EPS power of $17+ (vs. $8.21 today) with a bottom-up $14.55 2015 base case (mgmt top-line/margin targets conservative)." VFC closed at $139.88 on Thursday.