Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Reduces Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,356 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,893 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.07% of Kontoor Brands worth $3,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in KTB. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Kontoor Brands by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 57,662 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,472,000 after purchasing an additional 3,201 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 149.1% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 7,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,000 after acquiring an additional 4,235 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,010,000 after acquiring an additional 2,069 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $527,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands in the first quarter worth $524,000. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:KTB opened at $93.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $82.87 and a 200 day moving average of $74.55. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.82 and a 52 week high of $94.41.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 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 firm had revenue of $670.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $663.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.05%.

Insider Transactions at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total value of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.60, for a total value of $9,961,776.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 331,916 shares in the company, valued at $27,748,177.60. The trade was a 26.42 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.50% 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.