Van ECK Associates Corp Acquires 140,213 Shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 663,233 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 140,213 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.49% of KBR worth $44,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norden Group LLC grew its position in KBR by 40.7% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 9,238 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 2,672 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 1st quarter worth $352,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of KBR by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,443 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of KBR by 1.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 95,824 shares of the construction company's stock worth $6,100,000 after buying an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in KBR in the 1st quarter valued at about $138,000. Institutional investors own 97.02% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KBR news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

KBR Price Performance

KBR stock traded up $0.09 on Monday, hitting $67.38. 780,873 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,109,576. KBR, Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.69 and a 1-year high of $71.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $66.29 and a 200-day moving average of $65.55. The stock has a market cap of $8.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. KBR's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.21%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen downgraded shares of KBR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, September 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of KBR from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of KBR from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KBR from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, October 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, KBR currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $80.71.

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.