Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Boosts Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Key Points

• Azzad Asset Management increased its stake in Kontoor Brands by 40% in the first quarter, buying 16,760 additional shares and lifting its holding to 58,636 shares worth about $4.1 million.
• Institutional ownership in Kontoor Brands remains very high at 93.06%, and several other funds also added to their positions during recent quarters.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $91.20 target price, even as Kontoor reported weaker-than-expected quarterly EPS and revenue in its latest earnings release.

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 40.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 58,636 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,760 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.11% of Kontoor Brands worth $4,122,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 551,758 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,707,000 after acquiring an additional 20,270 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,276,410 shares of the company's stock worth $101,819,000 after acquiring an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. AMG National Trust Bank boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 162,657 shares of the company's stock worth $9,937,000 after purchasing an additional 27,044 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,214,831 shares of the company's stock worth $74,214,000 after purchasing an additional 99,593 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kontoor Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,185,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KTB. Wall Street Zen lowered Kontoor Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered Kontoor Brands from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Kontoor Brands in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.20.

Kontoor Brands Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $84.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.55 and a 12-month high of $88.85. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $74.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.57.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.11). Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 60.17% and a net margin of 8.30%.The company had revenue of $613.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Kontoor Brands's payout ratio is presently 42.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer H. Broyles sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.02, for a total value of $324,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 40,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,261,946.22. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Kontoor Brands Company Profile

Kontoor Brands, Inc is a global apparel company best known for its Wrangler and Lee denim and lifestyle brands. Established as an independent, publicly traded company in May 2019 following a spin-off from VF Corporation, Kontoor leverages a legacy that dates back to 1889 with the founding of Lee and to 1947 with the introduction of the Wrangler brand. The company focuses on designing, manufacturing and distributing premium, casual and workwear apparel, including jeans, pants, shorts, shirts, jackets and complementary accessories.

Kontoor Brands operates a diversified sales model that combines wholesale partnerships with leading retailers, distribution through e-commerce channels and select direct-to-consumer formats.

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