Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Kontoor Brands in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.00.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

NYSE KTB opened at $77.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.05. Kontoor Brands has a 1-year low of $53.55 and a 1-year high of $87.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $69.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.95.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $975.78 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 7.22%.Kontoor Brands’s revenue was up 45.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTB. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 105,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,793,000 after acquiring an additional 23,880 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Kontoor Brands by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 14,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 250.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 6,712 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,779 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 222.5% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 156,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,026,000 after purchasing an additional 107,855 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

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.