Vanguard Group Inc. Trims Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,684,936 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 105,518 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.78% of KBR worth $631,837,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KBR. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in KBR by 295.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 795 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in KBR by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 307,121 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,298,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in KBR by 697.0% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,314 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,361,000 after acquiring an additional 23,887 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in KBR by 4.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in KBR by 26.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,776 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $335,000 after acquiring an additional 1,210 shares in the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KBR Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of KBR opened at $50.47 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. KBR, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.89 and a 12 month high of $72.60. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.78. The firm has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.76.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. KBR had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 4.52%. The business’s revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts predict that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on KBR shares. UBS Group cut KBR from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $66.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on KBR from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. DA Davidson reduced their price target on KBR from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on KBR from $77.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered KBR from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 20,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total value of $1,056,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 802,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $42,372,684.41. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.