Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Kontoor Brands in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $118.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $73.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.26 and its 200-day moving average is $69.29. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Kontoor Brands has a 12 month low of $53.55 and a 12 month high of $87.00.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $613.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.76 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 55.20% and a net margin of 8.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands will post 6.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 8th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,268,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,132,000 after purchasing an additional 6,477 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,225,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,131,000 after purchasing an additional 10,540 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 298,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,133,000 after purchasing an additional 104,466 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 4,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Kontoor Brands

Here are the key news stories impacting Kontoor Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Kontoor reported stronger-than-expected Q1 adjusted earnings and raised its full-year outlook, signaling improving profitability and confidence in the business. Business Wire article
• Positive Sentiment: The company said revenue rose 45% year over year, helped by strong Helly Hansen performance and Wrangler market-share gains, which suggests core brand momentum. Business Wire article
• Positive Sentiment: Management announced a planned divestiture of the Lee brand and a $750 million share repurchase program, moves that could streamline the portfolio and support shareholder returns. Business Wire article
• Neutral Sentiment: Some early coverage emphasized that quarterly revenue missed Wall Street estimates even though earnings beat expectations, which may be limiting enthusiasm. Zacks article

About Kontoor Brands

Kontoor Brands, Inc is a global apparel company best known for its Wrangler and Lee denim and lifestyle brands. Established as an independent, publicly traded company in May 2019 following a spin-off from VF Corporation, Kontoor leverages a legacy that dates back to 1889 with the founding of Lee and to 1947 with the introduction of the Wrangler brand. The company focuses on designing, manufacturing and distributing premium, casual and workwear apparel, including jeans, pants, shorts, shirts, jackets and complementary accessories.

Kontoor Brands operates a diversified sales model that combines wholesale partnerships with leading retailers, distribution through e-commerce channels and select direct-to-consumer formats.