Insider Selling: Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) CFO Sells 9,472 Shares of Stock

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) CFO Joseph Alkire sold 9,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.92, for a total value of $719,114.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 44,803 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,401,443.76. This trade represents a 17.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Shares of Kontoor Brands stock traded up $0.94 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 966,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 805,577. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $73.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $56.19 and a one year high of $88.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.10 and a beta of 0.85.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by $0.16. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.21% and a return on equity of 59.71%. The firm had revenue of $685.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $694.18 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 19.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is currently 59.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $136.00 to $125.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Kontoor Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $96.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of KTB. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Kontoor Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Kontoor Brands

Kontoor Brands is an apparel company focused on denim and casual clothing. Its portfolio includes Wrangler and Lee, brands known for jeans and other everyday apparel, as well as Rock & Republic. The company sells products such as jeans, shirts, jackets, shorts and related apparel through wholesale partners and direct-to-consumer channels, including its own retail stores and e-commerce operations. Kontoor Brands serves customers in markets around the world. It became an independent public company in 2019 after being spun off from VF Corporation.