Versor Investments LP Purchases New Position in KBR, Inc. $KBR

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP acquired 10,911 shares of KBR, Inc. valued at approximately $543,000 during the first quarter, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• The CEO, Stuart Bradie, sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $52.81, reducing his ownership stake by 2.43% while still retaining over 802,000 shares.
• Brokerages have recently downgraded KBR, with UBS Group changing its rating from "buy" to "neutral" and lowering the target price from $66.00 to $54.00.

Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,911 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $543,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KBR. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of KBR by 295.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 795 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of KBR in the first quarter valued at $47,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in KBR by 146.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,311 shares of the construction company's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of KBR by 25.2% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,365 shares of the construction company's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the period. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on KBR shares. Bank of America downgraded KBR from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $55.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut KBR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. DA Davidson cut their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp downgraded shares of KBR from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of KBR from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.78.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In other news, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 20,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total transaction of $1,056,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 802,361 shares in the company, valued at $42,372,684.41. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.11% of the company's stock.

KBR Price Performance

NYSE:KBR traded up $1.3860 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.9860. 934,628 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,634,087. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.76. KBR, Inc. has a 12 month low of $43.89 and a 12 month high of $72.60. The company has a fifty day moving average of $48.42 and a 200 day moving average of $50.54.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.03. KBR had a net margin of 4.52% and a return on equity of 33.65%. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. KBR's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. KBR has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.780-3.88 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. KBR's payout ratio is currently 23.91%.

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.