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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Sunday morning.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. TD Cowen downgraded KBR from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, September 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $75.50.

KBR Price Performance

Shares of NYSE KBR traded up $1.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.25. 983,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,108,437. The firm has a market cap of $9.16 billion, a PE ratio of -35.55, 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 fifty-two week low of $49.37 and a fifty-two week high of $69.50. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.77.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. KBR had a return on equity of 27.92% and a net margin of 2.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that KBR will post 3.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. KBR's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -31.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 106,550 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,968. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in KBR by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,044,986 shares of the construction company's stock worth $722,823,000 after purchasing an additional 52,679 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in KBR by 29.4% during the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,286,779 shares of the construction company's stock worth $146,674,000 after purchasing an additional 520,207 shares during the period. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of KBR by 37.1% in the second quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,877,497 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $120,423,000 after purchasing an additional 507,800 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 6.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,778,765 shares of the construction company's stock worth $114,090,000 after buying an additional 113,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of KBR by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,766,916 shares of the construction company's stock worth $113,331,000 after buying an additional 196,693 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.