Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,868,418 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 451,887 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 2.15% of KBR worth $166,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in KBR by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 531 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 4,122 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in KBR during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Norden Group LLC grew its position in KBR by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 12,653 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $733,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Trust Company N.A increased its stake in KBR by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A now owns 3,567 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at KBR

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total transaction of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

KBR Stock Up 7.8 %

KBR stock opened at $53.84 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $51.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.96. KBR, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.16 and a fifty-two week high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. As a group, analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is 23.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, TD Cowen cut 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.88.

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.