Short Interest in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Drops By 5.9%

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) saw a significant decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, a decrease of 5.9% from the January 15th total of 3,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 443,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.8 days. Approximately 5.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 0.1 %

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $83.60 on Tuesday. Kontoor Brands has a 1-year low of $52.95 and a 1-year high of $96.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.49.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KTB. Barclays increased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mendel Money Management grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 4,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.