Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,977 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,955 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.48% of Kontoor Brands worth $17,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 385 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in shares of Kontoor Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 46.7% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 650 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 229.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Kontoor Brands by 161.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 729 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KTB. UBS Group raised their target price on Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $75.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Kontoor Brands from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $85.00 price target on shares of Kontoor Brands and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $87.50.

Kontoor Brands Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:KTB traded down $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $66.60. 696,968 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 574,786. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.12. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.00 and a fifty-two week high of $96.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $71.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 1.65.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $622.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $625.44 million. Kontoor Brands had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 71.33%. Kontoor Brands's revenue was down 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Kontoor Brands's payout ratio is 50.98%.

Kontoor Brands Company 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.