KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Short Interest Update

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,690,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 1.9% of the company's shares are sold short.

KBR Stock Up 0.2 %

KBR stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.15. 1,192,023 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,241,854. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. KBR has a 1 year low of $47.16 and a 1 year high of $72.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $53.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.62.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KBR will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

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KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from KBR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. KBR's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.57%.

Insider Activity at KBR

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KBR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 2.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,764 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the third quarter worth $771,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of KBR by 85.1% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,109 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,329,000 after purchasing an additional 23,491 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of KBR by 34.6% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 55,584 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,620,000 after purchasing an additional 14,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 27.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,621,740 shares of the construction company's stock worth $105,624,000 after purchasing an additional 353,209 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KBR has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, KBR has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.88.

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.