Royce & Associates LP Trims Stock Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Royce & Associates LP cut its stake in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,754 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 12,785 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP owned 0.47% of KBR worth $36,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of KBR. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in KBR in the 4th quarter valued at $47,022,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 4th quarter worth $1,131,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 3rd quarter worth $771,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 14.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,416,531 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $167,876,000 after purchasing an additional 305,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of KBR by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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KBR Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KBR traded down $1.24 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.06. 1,308,424 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,525. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. KBR, Inc. has a 52-week low of $47.16 and a 52-week high of $72.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $53.47 and a 200-day moving average of $59.87.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. Analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from KBR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. KBR's payout ratio is currently 23.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at KBR

In other news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. The trade was a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% 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.