KBR (NYSE:KBR) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $71.53 and last traded at $70.90, with a volume of 16258 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on KBR. TD Cowen downgraded shares of KBR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, September 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 6th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of KBR from $73.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of KBR from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One research 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.71.

KBR Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.89. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.84. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.95 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. KBR’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. KBR’s payout ratio is 25.21%.

Insider Activity at KBR

In related 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,091,968. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KBR

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in KBR by 17.5% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in KBR by 39.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in KBR by 27.7% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,457 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in KBR by 2.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of KBR by 2.6% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 16,865 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.