JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,376 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 86,860 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.42% of KBR worth $32,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in KBR by 102.0% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,976 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $715,000 after purchasing an additional 5,543 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of KBR by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,016,324 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $262,185,000 after buying an additional 29,833 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in KBR by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 486,017 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,654,000 after acquiring an additional 84,698 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in KBR by 278.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,000 after acquiring an additional 2,144 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its position in KBR by 4.7% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,060 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after acquiring an additional 1,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp cut their target price on KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.88.

KBR Trading Down 2.6 %

NYSE KBR opened at $46.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. KBR, Inc. has a one year low of $43.89 and a one year high of $72.60. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.73.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. On average, equities analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. KBR’s payout ratio is 23.57%.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,214,134.47. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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.