Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 138,950 Shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 31.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,256 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 138,950 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in KBR were worth $20,077,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of KBR. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in KBR by 2,029.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of KBR by 39.4% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its position in shares of KBR by 454.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of KBR during the 3rd quarter worth about $65,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in KBR by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

KBR Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of KBR stock opened at $70.00 on Thursday. KBR, Inc. has a 52-week low of $50.45 and a 52-week high of $72.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 29.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $66.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.90.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of KBR from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.14.

Insider Activity at KBR

In other KBR news, insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 106,550 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,968. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KBR 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.