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

Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $95.00.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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 report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $86.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.13. The stock has a market cap of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands has a 12-month low of $52.95 and a 12-month high of $94.82.

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

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

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

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KTB. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 242.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

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.