Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) Short Interest Up 7.4% in April

Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 4,660,000 shares, an increase of 7.4% from the April 15th total of 4,340,000 shares. Approximately 8.5% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 659,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KTB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Edward Jones downgraded Kontoor Brands from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $65.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Kontoor Brands from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Kontoor Brands from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.20.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of KTB stock traded up $1.04 on Thursday, reaching $69.00. The company had a trading volume of 453,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 566,102. Kontoor Brands has a 12 month low of $37.10 and a 12 month high of $69.98. The company has a current ratio of 2.70, a quick ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market cap of $3.85 billion, a PE ratio of 17.52, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.32 and a 200-day moving average of $58.43.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $631.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $607.91 million. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 71.45% and a net margin of 8.72%. Kontoor Brands's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 10th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. Kontoor Brands's payout ratio is presently 50.63%.

Institutional Trading of Kontoor Brands

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,426,658 shares of the company's stock worth $282,195,000 after purchasing an additional 20,964 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Kontoor Brands by 3.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,866,900 shares of the company's stock worth $169,796,000 after acquiring an additional 117,815 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,602,908 shares of the company's stock worth $100,054,000 after purchasing an additional 601,646 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,145,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,496,000 after purchasing an additional 35,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Kontoor Brands by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 954,563 shares of the company's stock worth $41,915,000 after purchasing an additional 6,754 shares in the last quarter. 93.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.