Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Increases Stake in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $1,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of KTB. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,602,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,054,000 after buying an additional 601,646 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $23,695,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 816.7% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 75,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,535,000 after purchasing an additional 67,064 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 421,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,335,000 after purchasing an additional 65,990 shares during the period. Finally, Nicholas Investment Partners LP purchased a new stake in Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $3,536,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $73.62 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.05. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.16. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $39.90 and a 52-week high of $74.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a current ratio of 2.74.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $607.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $592.97 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 9.35% and a return on equity of 72.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KTB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $76.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.83.

Insider Activity at Kontoor Brands

In other Kontoor Brands news, CAO Susan Denise Sumner sold 4,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.36, for a total value of $341,032.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,824.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Kontoor Brands news, CAO Susan Denise Sumner sold 4,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.36, for a total value of $341,032.68. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 15,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,824.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott H. Baxter sold 29,212 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.52, for a total transaction of $2,089,242.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 318,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,756,805.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.