Short Interest in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Drops By 9.7%

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, a decline of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,340,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $78.00) on shares of KBR in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of KBR from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of KBR from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, KBR presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $72.29.

KBR Stock Performance

KBR traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $61.98. The stock had a trading volume of 1,255,916 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,047,289. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. KBR has a 1-year low of $49.37 and a 1-year high of $65.87.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.69. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. KBR had a negative net margin of 3.81% and a positive return on equity of 25.08%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that KBR will post 3.2 earnings per share for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -29.27%.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total transaction of $471,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 38,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,270,989.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KBR

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 32,411 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,796,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 5.3% during the third quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,254 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 35.5% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 871 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 20,303 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 0.5% during the first quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 54,135 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,412,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.