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

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $66.00 to $72.00. The stock had previously closed at $63.12, but opened at $65.62. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. KBR shares last traded at $63.69, with a volume of 201,171 shares trading hands.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on KBR. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of KBR in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total value of $471,600.00. Following the transaction, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in KBR during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in KBR by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in KBR during the 4th quarter worth about $64,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in KBR during the 4th quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in KBR by 91.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,064 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares in the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KBR Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.78.

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

KBR Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.15 dividend. This is a positive change from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.