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

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Kontoor Brands, Inc. (NYSE:KTB) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 250,066 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,207 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Kontoor Brands were worth $17,577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Kontoor Brands by 9.9% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Kontoor Brands by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 24,710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,510,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Kontoor Brands by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company’s stock.

Kontoor Brands Price Performance

Kontoor Brands stock opened at $86.72 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 1.87 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $77.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.04. Kontoor Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.55 and a 1 year high of $88.96.

Kontoor Brands (NYSE:KTB) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $613.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.76 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 45.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Kontoor Brands has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.600-6.700 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Kontoor Brands, Inc. will post 5.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Kontoor Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 8th. Kontoor Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KTB shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Monday, June 8th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Kontoor Brands in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Kontoor Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised Kontoor Brands from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Kontoor Brands from $93.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Kontoor Brands news, EVP Jennifer H. Broyles sold 4,000 shares of Kontoor Brands stock in a transaction 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Kontoor Brands 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.