Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on KTB. Stifel Nicolaus cut Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total value of $9,961,776.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTB. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 73.2% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,942,000 after purchasing an additional 320,117 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 351.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,976,000 after buying an additional 270,427 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 159.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 335,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,186,000 after buying an additional 205,885 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,187,000 after buying an additional 201,399 shares during the period. Finally, Bwcp LP acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the second quarter worth about $11,890,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:KTB opened at $91.38 on Friday. Kontoor Brands has a 12-month low of $52.82 and a 12-month high of $92.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $82.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.28.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.11. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.05%.

About Kontoor Brands

Kontoor Brands, Inc, a lifestyle apparel company, designs, produces, procures, markets, distributes, and licenses denim, apparel, footwear, and accessories, primarily under the Wrangler and Lee brands. The company operates through two segments: Wrangler and Lee. It licenses and sells apparel under the Rock & Republic brand name.