Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $93.54 and last traded at $93.26, with a volume of 21332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Kontoor Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.53 and its 200 day moving average is $74.38.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid 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 2.22%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is 45.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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 owns 331,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth $332,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 35.7% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,203,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,409,000 after acquiring an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 316.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 101,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,303,000 after acquiring an additional 77,137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 156.3% in the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 12,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

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.