Royce & Associates LP Reduces Stock Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,246 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $4,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,606,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $207,897,000 after purchasing an additional 53,107 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,276,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,819,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,246,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,440,000 after purchasing an additional 8,834 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,214,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,214,000 after purchasing an additional 99,593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc increased its position in Kontoor Brands by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 765,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,501,000 after purchasing an additional 146,858 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Down 2.4%

KTB opened at $72.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.00. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.55 and a 12 month high of $87.00.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $613.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.76 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 60.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $118.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen cut Kontoor Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.33.

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.