Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Position Increased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 31.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 47,474 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,337 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $3,883,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 1.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 5.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 3.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total transaction of $9,961,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:KTB opened at $88.44 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $85.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.95 and a 12-month high of $94.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.85%.

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.