Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Cut to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has $93.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $89.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on KTB. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Kontoor Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Shares of Kontoor Brands stock opened at $81.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.57. Kontoor Brands has a 52 week low of $39.90 and a 52 week high of $89.76.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 351.7% in the second 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 raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,187,000 after acquiring an additional 201,399 shares during the last quarter. Bwcp LP purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,890,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 123.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

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.