Gotham Asset Management LLC Purchases 18,575 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 158.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,285 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,575 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.05% of Kontoor Brands worth $2,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,786,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $152,564,000 after purchasing an additional 44,287 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,402,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $119,827,000 after purchasing an additional 199,601 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,355,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,755,000 after purchasing an additional 142,956 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,267,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,252,000 after purchasing an additional 5,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 9.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,123,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,973,000 after purchasing an additional 100,397 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:KTB opened at $73.62 on Friday. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.00 and a 12 month high of $96.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.25. The firm has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.58, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.05.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.72% and a return on equity of 73.99%. The firm had revenue of $622.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 50.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on KTB shares. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.80.

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.