StockNews.com Lowers KBR (NYSE:KBR) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on KBR. DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of KBR in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen cut KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $72.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.50.

KBR Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of KBR stock opened at $64.37 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. KBR has a fifty-two week low of $49.37 and a fifty-two week high of $69.50. The company has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -33.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.90.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.88 billion. KBR had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 27.92%. As a group, equities analysts predict that KBR will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -31.25%.

Insider Activity at KBR

In other KBR news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,091,968. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KBR

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in KBR during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of KBR by 2,029.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in KBR by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of KBR by 454.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in KBR by 17.5% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

KBR Company Profile

KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.