Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $83.68 and last traded at $83.45, with a volume of 33763 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on KTB. UBS Group raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.33.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.72. The company has a current ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.20.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $607.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $592.97 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 72.43%. Kontoor Brands’s revenue was down 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is 50.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.