Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. Grows Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 229,360 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,013 shares during the quarter. Kontoor Brands comprises 1.3% of Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Kontoor Brands worth $15,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,496,000 after acquiring an additional 35,637 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,137,000 after buying an additional 7,526 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 613,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,315,000 after buying an additional 22,141 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 421,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,335,000 after purchasing an additional 65,990 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $23,695,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

NYSE KTB opened at $73.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.16. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.90 and a twelve month high of $75.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.04 and a 200 day moving average of $65.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 72.43%. The business had revenue of $607.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $592.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.83.

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.