Citigroup Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 76.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,738 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,650 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $5,785,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 242.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth $48,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on KTB. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group lifted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $91.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.50, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company has a 50-day moving average of $83.96 and a 200 day moving average of $75.19. The stock has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.19. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $52.95 and a 12-month high of $94.41.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.11. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The company had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a positive change from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.05%.

Insider Transactions at Kontoor Brands

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total transaction of $9,961,776.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. The trade was a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Profile

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.