Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $7.50 Million Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 89,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,495,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 7.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $166,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $568,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 24,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on KTB shares. Zacks Research upgraded Kontoor Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Kontoor Brands from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $66.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $80.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.87. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.19 and a twelve month high of $88.96.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $584.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $586.95 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 59.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.250-5.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas Doerr, Jr. sold 7,660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.43, for a total transaction of $639,073.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,091,006.09. The trade was a 23.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Baxter sold 184,403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.40, for a total value of $15,379,210.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 261,786 shares in the company, valued at $21,832,952.40. The trade was a 41.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

Kontoor Brands, Inc is a global apparel company best known for its Wrangler and Lee denim and lifestyle brands. Established as an independent, publicly traded company in May 2019 following a spin-off from VF Corporation, Kontoor leverages a legacy that dates back to 1889 with the founding of Lee and to 1947 with the introduction of the Wrangler brand. The company focuses on designing, manufacturing and distributing premium, casual and workwear apparel, including jeans, pants, shorts, shirts, jackets and complementary accessories.

Kontoor Brands operates a diversified sales model that combines wholesale partnerships with leading retailers, distribution through e-commerce channels and select direct-to-consumer formats.