Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 54,207 Shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. $KTB

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group cut its stake in Kontoor Brands by 17.8% in the first quarter, selling 54,207 shares and leaving it with 250,066 shares valued at about $17.6 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with a consensus price target of $91.20 and several firms recently issuing or raising bullish ratings and targets.
• Kontoor Brands reported mixed recent results, with EPS and revenue both missing analyst expectations in its latest quarter, though the company still maintained strong profitability and continued its quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Free Report) by 17.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 250,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,207 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.45% of Kontoor Brands worth $17,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 5,635.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 82,826 shares of the company's stock worth $5,822,000 after acquiring an additional 81,382 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Kontoor Brands by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,317 shares of the company's stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in Kontoor Brands during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 58,636 shares of the company's stock worth $4,122,000 after purchasing an additional 16,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new position in Kontoor Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. 93.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on KTB. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Kontoor Brands from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised shares of Kontoor Brands from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research report on Monday, June 8th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Kontoor Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Kontoor Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.20.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $86.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average is $77.33 and its 200 day moving average is $71.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.17 by ($0.11). Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 60.17% and a net margin of 8.30%.The business had revenue of $613.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.20 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 45.0% on a year-over-year basis. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Kontoor Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Jennifer H. Broyles sold 4,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 40,261 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,261,946.22. The trade was a 9.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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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