Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 17.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,841 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,020 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Kontoor Brands by 1.1% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 5.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 3.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 0.8% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 25,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 2.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $616,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KTB shares. Barclays raised their price target on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target 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 lifted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Kontoor Brands

In other news, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were 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 owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,467,227.09. This trade represents a 33.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Kontoor Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $90.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.46 and a 52 week high of $92.48. The company has a market capitalization of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $80.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.41.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $663.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. Kontoor Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 9th. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. Kontoor Brands’s payout ratio is presently 45.05%.

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.