24,646 Shares in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Purchased by James Investment Research Inc.

James Investment Research Inc. acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,016,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 270,427 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Kontoor Brands by 159.0% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 335,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,186,000 after acquiring an additional 205,885 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Kontoor Brands by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,043,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,187,000 after acquiring an additional 201,399 shares in the last quarter. Bwcp LP purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the second quarter worth about $11,890,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 123.7% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 220,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,557,000 after purchasing an additional 121,689 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Kontoor Brands Trading Down 4.6 %

NYSE:KTB opened at $81.66 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.90 and a 1 year high of $89.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $77.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.34.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.12. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 72.43% and a net margin of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

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