Stifel Nicolaus Downgrades Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) to Hold

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has $93.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $89.00.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kontoor Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 4.6 %

Shares of KTB opened at $81.65 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.57. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.19. Kontoor Brands has a 12-month low of $39.90 and a 12-month high of $89.76.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is 45.05%.

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTB. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 351.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,976,000 after buying an additional 270,427 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 159.0% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 335,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,186,000 after acquiring an additional 205,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the second 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. Bwcp LP acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the second quarter worth $11,890,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 123.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 220,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,557,000 after purchasing an additional 121,689 shares in 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.