Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 800 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 24,200 shares of the company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $1,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position 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 worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,078 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $801,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,292,000 after purchasing an additional 6,009 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,013,000. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:KTB opened at $76.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.01. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.90 and a fifty-two week high of $84.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.20.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.10. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 72.43%. The company had revenue of $607.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $592.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.70%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.00.

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.