KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Stake Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,790,454 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,588 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.60% of KBR worth $740,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KBR. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of KBR by 12,326.4% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,242,416 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $188,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,323 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of KBR by 87.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,805,163 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $162,503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307,033 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,022,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of KBR by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,416,531 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $167,876,000 after acquiring an additional 305,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in KBR by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 882,086 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,099,000 after purchasing an additional 218,853 shares during the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, KBR currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.88.

KBR Stock Down 1.6 %

KBR stock opened at $50.34 on Friday. KBR, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.16 and a 52 week high of $72.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $52.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.18. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. On average, analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.31%. This is a boost from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other KBR news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. The trade was a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.