Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Short Interest Update

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, a decline of 15.7% from the February 13th total of 3,180,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 628,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

KTB opened at $62.61 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.23. Kontoor Brands has a one year low of $52.95 and a one year high of $96.80.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $699.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.07 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. Kontoor Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Kontoor Brands from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.50.

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in KTB. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 73.2% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,942,000 after acquiring an additional 320,117 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 97.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 579,844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,524,000 after acquiring an additional 285,897 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 119.1% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 466,065 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,807,000 after acquiring an additional 253,360 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $17,630,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,402,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $119,827,000 after acquiring an additional 199,601 shares in the last quarter. 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.