Wall Street Zen Upgrades Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) from a "buy" to a Strong-Buy, while several other firms raised price targets (UBS to $131, Goldman to $95), leaving a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $91.
• Kontoor beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $1.73 (vs. $1.65 est.) and revenue of $1.02 billion, up 45.6% year‑over‑year, and set FY2026 guidance of EPS 6.400–6.500.
• Shares jumped about 6.9% (opened $77.32), the stock has a market cap of $4.27B and a PE of 19.09, and institutional investors own roughly 93% of the company.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $74.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Kontoor Brands in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. They set a "hold" rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Kontoor Brands from $118.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Kontoor Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $91.00.

Kontoor Brands Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of KTB opened at $77.32 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $69.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.02. Kontoor Brands has a twelve month low of $53.55 and a twelve month high of $87.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.01.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.08. Kontoor Brands had a return on equity of 62.02% and a net margin of 7.22%.The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $975.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 45.6% on a year-over-year basis. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.400-6.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the first quarter worth about $1,918,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,402 shares of the company's stock worth $636,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $147,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,136,443 shares of the company's stock worth $69,426,000 after purchasing an additional 215,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Kontoor Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.06% 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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