Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Cut to “Hold” at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $93.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $89.00.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on KTB. Guggenheim raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

NYSE:KTB opened at $84.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.19. Kontoor Brands has a 1-year low of $47.33 and a 1-year high of $89.76. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. Kontoor Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 242.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.