Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Short Interest Down 15.7% in February

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the February 13th total of 3,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 628,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTB. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 407.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 229.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 161.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 729 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of KTB stock traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $63.50. The company had a trading volume of 800,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,352. Kontoor Brands has a 1-year low of $52.95 and a 1-year high of $96.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.70 and a 200 day moving average of $82.22.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted 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. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The firm had revenue of $699.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.07 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

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.