Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 663,233 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140,213 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in KBR were worth $44,602,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of KBR. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of KBR by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of KBR by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 231 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of KBR by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,457 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in KBR by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,764 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $766,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in KBR by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,865 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

KBR Price Performance

NYSE:KBR opened at $67.29 on Monday. KBR, Inc. has a one year low of $49.37 and a one year high of $71.38. The stock has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 28.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a 50 day moving average price of $66.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.53.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. KBR’s payout ratio is 25.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of KBR from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on KBR from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,091,968. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

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.