Short Interest in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Decreases By 5.8%

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,260,000 shares, a decrease of 5.8% from the December 15th total of 3,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 427,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.6 days. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $86.10 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands has a twelve month low of $52.95 and a twelve month high of $94.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.44.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The company 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%. Kontoor Brands’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 46.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total value of $9,961,776.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. This represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 31.4% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 47,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,883,000 after buying an additional 11,337 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 8,078.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 28,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 28,273 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,383 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $332,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $4,799,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.