Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 20.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,756 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $182,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 4th quarter worth $368,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 38.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 65,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,071,000 after buying an additional 18,121 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $165,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.2% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 34,834 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after buying an additional 1,078 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Kontoor Brands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 278,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,788,000 after acquiring an additional 6,949 shares during the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on KTB. Barclays increased their price target on Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.33.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $78.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $74.56 and a 200-day moving average of $68.68. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.90 and a 52-week high of $83.50.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 72.43% and a net margin of 9.35%. The firm had revenue of $607.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $592.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 10th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

About Kontoor Brands

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.