Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.34 by $0.16, FiscalAI reports. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 59.71%. The business had revenue of $685.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $694.18 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 19.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Kontoor Brands’ conference call:

• Third-quarter continuing-operations revenue rose 3% to $685 million, while adjusted gross margin expanded 230 basis points to 48.1% and adjusted EPS increased 40% to $1.50. Kontoor raised its full-year outlook to adjusted EPS of $5.40, up 31%, and gross margin of 50.0%–50.2%.
• Wrangler’s U.S. men’s-bottoms POS softened to 1% growth in September, and retail partners’ inventories were down at a high-single-digit rate. The company expects Wrangler revenue to grow about 1% in Q4, assuming continued cautious retailer inventory management and no improvement in POS trends.
• Helly Hansen revenue grew 3% in the quarter, and year-to-date revenue was up 8% on a reported pro forma basis, ahead of Kontoor’s acquisition plan. Management expects Q4 growth of about 5% and said its 2027 plans remain in line with the brand’s longer-term growth strategy.
• Kontoor closed the Lee sale for $698 million in net proceeds and plans $450 million of Q4 share repurchases, including a $400 million accelerated program, plus $280 million in voluntary debt payments. The company expects to return about $1 billion of capital this year through buybacks, dividends, and debt reduction.
• Management set a 2027 adjusted EPS floor of $6.60, representing more than 20% growth, and expects cash from operations of at least $325 million. The outlook includes elevated one-time costs and about $30 million of incremental full-year tariff expense; Kontoor expects cash flow to exceed $400 million beyond 2027.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Shares of KTB stock opened at $77.00 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.85. Kontoor Brands has a twelve month low of $56.19 and a twelve month high of $88.96. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.95.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KTB. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC initiated coverage on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research report on Friday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $136.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In related news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 184,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.40, for a total transaction of $15,379,210.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 261,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,832,952.40. This trade represents a 41.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 7,660 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.43, for a total value of $639,073.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,091,006.09. The trade was a 23.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Kontoor Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kontoor reported third-quarter EPS of $1.50, beating the $1.34 consensus and topping the $1.44 earned a year earlier. Management also cited growth at Wrangler and Helly Hansen and gross-margin expansion. Company earnings release
• Positive Sentiment: The company strengthened its 2026 earnings outlook and plans to repurchase $450 million of shares following the completion of its Lee divestiture—potentially supporting per-share results and returning capital to investors. Company earnings release
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly revenue was $685.35 million, below the $694.18 million analyst estimate and down 19.7% year over year. The top-line shortfall likely tempered the positive reaction to the EPS beat. Zacks quarterly metrics

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

Kontoor Brands, Inc (NYSE: KTB) is a global lifestyle apparel company focused on denim and casualwear. Its portfolio includes the Wrangler and Lee brands, as well as Rock & Republic, offering jeans, shirts, jackets, tops, bottoms, accessories and related products for men, women and children.

The company sells its products through wholesale customers, including department stores, specialty retailers and mass merchants, as well as through company-operated stores and e-commerce channels. Kontoor serves consumers in North America and international markets, with products distributed across multiple regions worldwide.

Kontoor Brands became an independent publicly traded company in 2019 following its separation from VF Corporation.