California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 630,592 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,063 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.47% of KBR worth $36,530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in KBR by 49.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 531 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of KBR during the 4th quarter valued at $68,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of KBR by 507.2% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in KBR in the 4th quarter worth $104,000. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KBR Price Performance

KBR stock opened at $53.84 on Thursday. KBR, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.16 and a 52 week high of $72.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69.

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

KBR Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on KBR. Citigroup reduced their price target on KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut their price target on 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 cut their price objective on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, KBR presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 63,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.