GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires 182 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 882 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 182 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $75,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Kontoor Brands by 242.5% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:KTB opened at $86.26 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $88.66 and its 200 day moving average is $78.76. The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.50. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $52.95 and a 52-week high of $94.82.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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 prior year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 9th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from Kontoor Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 9th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Thomas L. Doerr, Jr. sold 9,039 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.71, for a total transaction of $729,537.69. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 18,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,467,227.09. The trade was a 33.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 119,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 331,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,748,177.60. This trade represents a 26.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

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.