KBR (NYSE:KBR) Shares Down 4% – Here’s What Happened

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)’s share price dropped 4% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $37.39 and last traded at $37.3450. Approximately 972,941 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 1,602,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KBR has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of KBR from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of KBR from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of KBR from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of KBR from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on KBR from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

KBR Stock Down 5.1%

The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The company has a market capitalization of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.02.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. KBR had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a $0.1650 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in KBR. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of KBR by 4,205.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 861 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 841 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in KBR during the third quarter worth $31,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in KBR by 27.5% in the first quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the third quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

About KBR

KBR, Inc. is a global provider of engineering, technology and professional services. The company serves government and commercial customers through two main businesses: Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions. Government Solutions supports defense, intelligence, space and civilian agencies with services that include mission support, logistics, science and technology, and operations and maintenance. Sustainable Technology Solutions provides engineering, consulting and project services for energy, chemicals and other industrial markets, along with technologies related to lower-carbon energy and sustainable products.