KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,650,000 shares, an increase of 28.6% from the November 30th total of 2,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of KBR

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of KBR in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. 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 last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its position in KBR by 454.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in KBR during the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in KBR during the 3rd quarter valued at $111,000. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on KBR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on KBR from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.14.

KBR Price Performance

KBR stock opened at $57.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $64.46. KBR has a 52-week low of $51.60 and a 52-week high of $72.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.84.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that KBR will post 3.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.21%.

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.