KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 2,440,000 shares, a growth of 19.0% from the February 13th total of 2,050,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KBR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen decreased their target price on KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.88.

KBR Stock Performance

Shares of KBR stock traded down $1.04 on Thursday, reaching $50.26. The stock had a trading volume of 564,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,236,654. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. KBR has a 1 year low of $47.16 and a 1 year high of $72.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.87.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. Equities research analysts expect that KBR will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is 23.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $961,210.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. This represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KBR

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in KBR. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in KBR in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of KBR by 49.2% in the fourth 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. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in KBR in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. bought a new position in KBR during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the 4th quarter worth $68,000. 97.02% of the stock is owned by 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.