Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.56 Million in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 25,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,560,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KTB. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 402.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,001,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,965,000 after buying an additional 802,166 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,837,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 55.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,353,135 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,416,000 after acquiring an additional 482,274 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,205,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,211,000 after acquiring an additional 479,542 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 120.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 518,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,100,000 after acquiring an additional 283,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of KTB opened at $56.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 2.66. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $37.10 and a twelve month high of $64.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.87. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.13.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $669.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $720.70 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 76.30% and a net margin of 8.86%. On average, analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

KTB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Edward Jones lowered shares of Kontoor Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $56.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.40.

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.