Fmr LLC Lowers Stock Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Fmr LLC decreased its position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 30.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,853,395 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,104,130 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned about 10.40% of KBR worth $802,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of KBR by 49.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 531 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in KBR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of KBR in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of KBR by 507.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $93,000 after buying an additional 1,339 shares during the period. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

KBR Stock Performance

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. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $51.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.73. KBR, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.89 and a fifty-two week high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other KBR news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by 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.