#5 VF Corp.
Ticker: VFC
YTD stock performance: 62%
Market cap: $14.4 billion
Fortune 500 Rank: 310
VF is the company behind a number of popular brands, including The North Face, Seven for all Mankind, Wrangler, and Vans. In June, VF made a huge move by adding Timberland to its impressive roll.
That acquisition cost VF about $2 billion in cash, but is a "game-changing" one that will spur substantial growth for the next several years, according to Morgan Stanley analysts, who target VF's stock price at $152 per share.
VF said in October that Timberland, which has a strong international presence, added almost $164 million to the company's third-quarter revenue of $2.8 billion. VF CEO Eric Wiseman said he expects that momentum to continue, and boosted the company's fourth-quarter guidance substantially, citing the "transformational" buyout.
Investors are also fans of Greensboro, N.C.-based VF because of its reliable dividend payouts. VF recently marked its 39th consecutive year of higher dividend payments, when it raised its quarterly disbursement 14% to 72 cents per share.
