Aristides Capital LLC Grows Stock Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Aristides Capital LLC raised its stake in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 16.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,030 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Aristides Capital LLC’s holdings in KBR were worth $1,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in KBR in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,022,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the fourth quarter valued at $1,131,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $167,876,000 after buying an additional 305,889 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of KBR by 56.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,021 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KBR in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,000. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on KBR shares. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.88.

KBR Stock Performance

NYSE KBR opened at $47.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $51.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.79. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $47.16 and a twelve month high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.08. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. On average, research analysts predict that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.57%.

KBR Company 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.