Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.00.

A number of equities analysts have commented on KTB shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Shares of Kontoor Brands stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.18. 78,132 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 476,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands has a 52-week low of $39.90 and a 52-week high of $84.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.01.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 72.43% and a net margin of 9.35%. The business had revenue of $607.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $592.97 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The company's revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.8 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KTB. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company's stock worth $135,187,000 after purchasing an additional 201,399 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,270,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $84,046,000 after buying an additional 12,019 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,250,293 shares of the company's stock worth $82,707,000 after buying an additional 60,926 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 712,579 shares of the company's stock worth $47,137,000 after acquiring an additional 7,526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 351.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,976,000 after acquiring an additional 270,427 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.