KBR (NYSE:KBR) Downgraded by TD Cowen to Hold

TD Cowen cut shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $72.00 target price on the construction company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on KBR. StockNews.com downgraded KBR from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson reissued a buy rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on KBR from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on KBR from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $75.50.

KBR Trading Down 6.6 %

NYSE:KBR opened at $62.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -32.31, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.27. KBR has a 52 week low of $49.37 and a 52 week high of $69.50.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. KBR had a return on equity of 27.92% and a net margin of 2.77%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.88 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that KBR will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -31.25%.

Insider Activity

In other KBR news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total value of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 106,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,091,968. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of KBR by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,044,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $722,823,000 after purchasing an additional 52,679 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in KBR by 12.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,084,559 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,915,000 after purchasing an additional 331,749 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of KBR by 29.4% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,286,779 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,674,000 after purchasing an additional 520,207 shares during the period. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of KBR by 37.1% in the second quarter. Wolf Hill Capital Management LP now owns 1,877,497 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $120,423,000 after purchasing an additional 507,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of KBR by 6.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,778,765 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $114,090,000 after purchasing an additional 113,140 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.