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

Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $91.50.

Several research firms have weighed in on KTB. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of KTB stock opened at $63.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.20 and its 200-day moving average is $82.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.23. Kontoor Brands has a 52-week low of $52.95 and a 52-week high of $96.80.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $699.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.07 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. Kontoor Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,205,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $180,373,000 after acquiring an additional 26,759 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,786,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,564,000 after acquiring an additional 44,287 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,402,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,827,000 after acquiring an additional 199,601 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,355,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,755,000 after acquiring an additional 142,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,252,000 after acquiring an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.