KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $78.86.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on KBR. StockNews.com lowered shares of KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 6th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their price target on KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of KBR in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

KBR Stock Performance

NYSE KBR opened at $57.45 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.12. The company has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.85. KBR has a 1-year low of $51.60 and a 1-year high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that KBR will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 25.21%.

Institutional Trading of KBR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KBR. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in shares of KBR during the fourth quarter valued at about $205,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in KBR by 45.9% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 5,088 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in KBR by 14.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,416,531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $167,876,000 after purchasing an additional 305,889 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the third quarter worth $200,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of KBR by 73.4% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 6,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 2,592 shares in the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.