Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Short Interest Down 5.8% in December

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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 company’s stock are sold short.

Insider Activity at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. The trade was a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 242.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Kontoor Brands by 407.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 416 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

NYSE KTB opened at $86.10 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.44. The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands has a 1-year low of $52.95 and a 1-year high of $94.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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