PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 745,573 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group trimmed its Kontoor Brands stake by 11% in the first quarter, selling 745,573 shares and ending with 6,016,648 shares valued at about $422.9 million.
• Kontoor Brands has continued to draw strong institutional interest, with several firms adding or initiating positions and institutional ownership now at 93.06% of the stock.
• The company recently reported mixed earnings: revenue beat year-ago levels but came in below estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $91.20.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 11.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,016,648 shares of the company's stock after selling 745,573 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 10.89% of Kontoor Brands worth $422,910,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of KTB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the fourth quarter worth $36,185,000. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,733,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,019,204 shares of the company's stock valued at $184,443,000 after buying an additional 413,005 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 3rd quarter worth $24,653,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 134.3% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 468,630 shares of the company's stock worth $30,916,000 after buying an additional 268,604 shares during the period. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KTB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Kontoor Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Kontoor Brands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays increased their target price on Kontoor Brands from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Kontoor Brands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jennifer H. Broyles sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.02, for a total transaction of $324,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 40,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,261,946.22. This represents a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Kontoor Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KTB opened at $85.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $76.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.86. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.55 and a 52-week high of $88.96.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.30% and a return on equity of 60.17%. The company had revenue of $613.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.20 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 45.0% on a year-over-year basis. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

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

About Kontoor Brands

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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