Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,260,000 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 427,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.6 days. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KTB opened at $86.10 on Monday. Kontoor Brands has a twelve month low of $52.95 and a twelve month high of $94.82. 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $88.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.54. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.20.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on KTB shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total transaction of $9,961,776.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. The trade was a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KTB. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 73.2% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,942,000 after purchasing an additional 320,117 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 351.7% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 347,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,976,000 after acquiring an additional 270,427 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings 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 worth $22,186,000 after buying an additional 205,885 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,187,000 after purchasing an additional 201,399 shares during the period. Finally, Bwcp LP acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $11,890,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by 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.