James Investment Research Inc. Makes New $2.02 Million Investment in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 24,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 242.5% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 24.1% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.8% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 46,432 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,797,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 8,078.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 28,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,341,000 after buying an additional 28,273 shares during the period. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on KTB. UBS Group increased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. 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 downgraded shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Friday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $81.66 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $39.90 and a one year high of $89.76. The business has a fifty day moving average of $77.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.74.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.12. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 72.43%. The firm 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 earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.55%. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.85%.

About Kontoor Brands

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.