Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Stock Price Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)’s share price was up 4.8% on Friday. The company traded as high as $81.28 and last traded at $81.4570. 60,337 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 92% from the average session volume of 800,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $77.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KTB. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Kontoor Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kontoor Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Kontoor Brands in a report on Friday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.33.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.11 and a 200-day moving average of $73.49. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 22.63 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.99.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.16. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 59.17% and a net margin of 6.51%. The business had revenue of $685.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $694.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 59.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kontoor Brands news, CFO Joseph A. Alkire sold 9,472 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.92, for a total value of $719,114.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,803 shares in the company, valued at $3,401,443.76. This represents a 17.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter worth $958,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Kontoor Brands by 92.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 28,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 13,597 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Kontoor Brands by 1,497.2% during the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,938 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 7,441 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $265,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 36,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,383 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

About Kontoor Brands

Kontoor Brands is an apparel company focused on denim and casual clothing. Its portfolio includes Wrangler and Lee, brands known for jeans and other everyday apparel, as well as Rock & Republic. The company sells products such as jeans, shirts, jackets, shorts and related apparel through wholesale partners and direct-to-consumer channels, including its own retail stores and e-commerce operations. Kontoor Brands serves customers in markets around the world. It became an independent public company in 2019 after being spun off from VF Corporation.