KBR (NYSE:KBR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on KBR. TD Cowen cut shares of 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. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KBR presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $75.50.

KBR Price Performance

KBR stock opened at $65.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. KBR has a 1 year low of $49.37 and a 1 year high of $69.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.66.

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

KBR Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.91%. KBR’s payout ratio is -31.25%.

Insider Activity at KBR

In related 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 transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,091,968. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KBR during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of KBR by 39.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of KBR by 454.7% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of KBR by 17.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

About KBR

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.