Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and seven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.56.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Kontoor Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $82.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Zacks Research raised Kontoor Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Kontoor Brands in a research report on Friday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

KTB stock opened at $75.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day moving average of $72.39. Kontoor Brands has a 12-month low of $56.19 and a 12-month high of $88.96. The company has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 8th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 44.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas Doerr, Jr. sold 7,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.43, for a total value of $639,073.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 25,063 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,091,006.09. This trade represents a 23.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott Baxter sold 184,403 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.40, for a total value of $15,379,210.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 261,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,832,952.40. This trade represents a 41.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTB. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 33.9% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,681 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 69.8% in the third quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 41,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,591,000 after acquiring an additional 16,907 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in Kontoor Brands by 840.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,638 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $637,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

Kontoor Brands, Inc (NYSE: KTB) is a global lifestyle apparel company focused on denim and casualwear. Its portfolio includes the Wrangler and Lee brands, as well as Rock & Republic, offering jeans, shirts, jackets, tops, bottoms, accessories and related products for men, women and children.

The company sells its products through wholesale customers, including department stores, specialty retailers and mass merchants, as well as through company-operated stores and e-commerce channels. Kontoor serves consumers in North America and international markets, with products distributed across multiple regions worldwide.

Kontoor Brands became an independent publicly traded company in 2019 following its separation from VF Corporation.