KBR (NYSE:KBR) Stock Price Up 7.8% – Still a Buy?

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) shares shot up 7.8% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $59.77 and last traded at $59.51. 567,007 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,190,606 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KBR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of KBR from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. KeyCorp upped their target price on KBR from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 6th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, KBR currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.14.

KBR Trading Up 3.9 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

KBR Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KBR

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of KBR by 39.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in KBR by 27.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,457 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in KBR by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 43,721 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,804,000 after acquiring an additional 2,995 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of KBR by 17.5% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,204 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in KBR during the 2nd quarter worth about $273,000. 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.