Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys New Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,151 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $530,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KBR. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of KBR by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 531 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of KBR by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,122 shares of the construction company's stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KBR in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Norden Group LLC raised its position in KBR by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 12,653 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A lifted its position in shares of KBR by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,567 shares of the construction company's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KBR has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.86.

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KBR Price Performance

NYSE:KBR traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $50.26. 1,064,483 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,307,804. KBR, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.89 and a 1 year high of $72.60. The company has a market cap of $6.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $50.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.08.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. This is a positive change from KBR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. KBR's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KBR

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KBR 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.