Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 19.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 174,401 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,000 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $14,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 5.0% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KTB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.00.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:KTB opened at $91.73 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $83.96 and its 200 day moving average is $75.10. The company has a market cap of $5.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a current ratio of 2.50 and a quick ratio of 1.42. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.95 and a 1 year 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, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $663.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Company 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.