Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 36,800 KBR, Inc. $KBR

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new stake in KBR during the first quarter, buying 36,800 shares valued at about $1.36 million.
• KBR reported better-than-expected earnings for the latest quarter, with EPS of $0.96 versus $0.92 expected and revenue of $1.92 billion versus $1.88 billion expected, though revenue still declined 4.7% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 1.8%, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus “Hold” with a $53.25 price target.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 36,800 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,356,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KBR. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the 1st quarter worth about $627,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in KBR by 484.5% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 97,359 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $3,936,000 after purchasing an additional 80,701 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in KBR by 50.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,914 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 976 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in KBR in the fourth quarter worth about $452,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in KBR by 88.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,921 shares of the construction company's stock worth $77,000 after buying an additional 904 shares during the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

KBR Stock Up 4.9%

KBR opened at $36.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.22. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $29.94 and a twelve month high of $52.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.44.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. KBR had a net margin of 5.21% and a return on equity of 33.92%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. KBR has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.870-4.220 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year.

KBR Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. KBR's payout ratio is presently 21.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

KBR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of KBR from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research raised KBR from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on KBR from $45.00 to $40.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of KBR in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on KBR from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, CFO Shad E. Evans bought 8,375 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $30.60 per share, with a total value of $256,275.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 43,725 shares in the company, valued at $1,337,985. The trade was a 23.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Carlos A. Sabater bought 14,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $470,815.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 35,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,159,341.35. The trade was a 68.38% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 29,875 shares of company stock worth $945,160 in the last three months. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

KBR Profile

KBR, Inc is a global engineering, procurement, construction and services (EPC&S) company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm delivers integrated solutions and technologies across the full project lifecycle for customers in the energy, government, industrial and infrastructure sectors. Its offerings span feasibility studies, front-end engineering design, detailed design, procurement, fabrication, construction, commissioning and operations support.

The company is organized into business segments that include Energy Solutions, which focuses on oil and gas processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and petrochemical plants; Government Solutions, providing logistics, sustainment, training and mission support for defense, intelligence and civilian agencies; and Sustainable Technology, delivering chemical process technologies, water treatment and lower-carbon fuels expertise.

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