KBR (NYSE:KBR) Shares Down 4% – Should You Sell?

Shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) were down 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $37.39 and last traded at $37.3450. Approximately 972,941 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 1,602,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on KBR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on KBR from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of KBR from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of KBR from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of KBR from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

KBR Stock Down 2.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $36.71 and a 200 day moving average of $36.93.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.12. KBR had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. KBR’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.1650 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. KBR’s payout ratio is 18.97%.

Institutional Trading of KBR

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KBR. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KBR in the 2nd quarter valued at about $479,892,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of KBR by 7.6% during the third quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,545,933 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $54,355,000 after purchasing an additional 109,264 shares during the last quarter. Engine Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of KBR by 1,129.3% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,531,313 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,746 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in KBR by 6.5% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,429,397 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,258,000 after purchasing an additional 87,685 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of KBR in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,044,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

KBR Company Profile

KBR, Inc. is a global provider of engineering, technology and professional services. The company serves government and commercial customers through two main businesses: Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions. Government Solutions supports defense, intelligence, space and civilian agencies with services that include mission support, logistics, science and technology, and operations and maintenance. Sustainable Technology Solutions provides engineering, consulting and project services for energy, chemicals and other industrial markets, along with technologies related to lower-carbon energy and sustainable products.