KBR (NYSE:KBR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $83.00. The stock had previously closed at $63.12, but opened at $65.62. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. KBR shares last traded at $63.69, with a volume of 201,171 shares changing hands.

KBR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Truist Financial increased their target price on KBR from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of KBR from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of KBR from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, KBR currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.43.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In related news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total value of $471,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 38,524 shares in the company, valued at $2,270,989.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KBR. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in KBR during the first quarter worth $25,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in KBR during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in KBR in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in KBR by 91.4% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KBR Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of -31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $61.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.81.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69. KBR had a negative net margin of 3.81% and a positive return on equity of 25.08%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. KBR’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. KBR’s payout ratio is -29.27%.

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.