Most companies grow by adding more. Kontoor Brands is trying to grow by owning less. JPMorgan thinks that is the smart play. The bank just started covering the Wrangler maker. It put an overweight rating and a $90 price target on the stock. Overweight is just JPMorgan's way of saying buy. The target points to more than 28% upside from Friday's close.
Kontoor just agreed to sell its Lee jeans brand. The buyer is Authentic Brands Group, and the price is $1 billion. That leaves Kontoor with two main labels. One is Wrangler jeans. The other is Helly Hansen, an outdoor clothing brand. Kontoor used to own more brands than that. Now it is down to a tight, focused lineup.
Wrangler has been around for decades. It is a household name in jeans. Helly Hansen sells jackets and gear for the outdoors. It is big with skiers and sailors. It leans on higher prices and loyal fans.
JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss calls the lineup an inflection point. That is just a turning point where growth can speed up.
His logic is simple. With fewer brands to juggle, the team can focus. Wrangler is the steady core. Helly Hansen is the growth engine. So he sees both growing faster, with Helly Hansen leading the way.
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The stock has had a rough stretch. Kontoor shares have fallen more than 20% from a high they hit in January 2025. JPMorgan's $90 target would put the stock nearly back at that peak.
A price target is just where an analyst thinks a stock should trade. It is an opinion, not a promise.
Boss thinks there is even more on the table. The Lee sale went for 10 times a key measure of profit, called EBITDA. He sees that as a sign the rest of Kontoor could be worth more than the market pays today. His high case puts the stock at $108.
Apparel has been a hard place to make money lately. Shoppers have been careful. A sharp focus could help Kontoor stand out. The company also pays a regular dividend, which can pay you to wait.
The real test is simple. Can Wrangler and Helly Hansen actually grow faster now that Lee is gone? The whole pitch rests on focus paying off. So the next few quarters will show if the numbers agree. Denim is a steady business. People always buy jeans, and Wrangler keeps that base solid. Helly Hansen adds the faster growth on top. The plan is simple: do less, but do it better. Wall Street seems to like that idea. The brand still has loyal buyers. That gives it a strong base to build on.
JPMorgan is betting they will.
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