Pacer Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 252,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,718,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the fourth quarter worth $36,185,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at $44,733,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,019,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $184,443,000 after purchasing an additional 413,005 shares during the period. Amundi purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at $24,653,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 134.3% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 468,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,916,000 after purchasing an additional 268,604 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KTB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Kontoor Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Kontoor Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Kontoor Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.70.

Kontoor Brands Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE:KTB opened at $83.62 on Wednesday. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.19 and a 1 year high of $88.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $80.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $72.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.93 and a beta of 0.88.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $613.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.76 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 60.17% and a net margin of 8.30%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 42.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Jennifer H. Broyles sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.02, for a total transaction of $324,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,261,946.22. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.