Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Short Interest Update

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,680,000 shares, a drop of 15.7% from the February 13th total of 3,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 628,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Kontoor Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in KTB. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 17,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $230,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2,368.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $838,000 after acquiring an additional 9,830 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,799,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 73.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 757,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,942,000 after acquiring an additional 320,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Kontoor Brands from $100.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Kontoor Brands from $108.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of KTB opened at $62.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.23. Kontoor Brands has a 1 year low of $52.95 and a 1 year high of $96.80.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $699.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $698.07 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 73.99% and a net margin of 9.72%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is presently 47.60%.

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.