KBR (NYSE:KBR) Downgraded by Bank of America to Neutral

Key Points

• KBR has been downgraded by Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating, with a new target price set at $55.00, down from $70.00.
• Other analysts have varied ratings on KBR, with six giving it a hold rating and four a buy rating; the consensus target price is currently $62.78.
• In the most recent quarter, KBR reported earnings of $0.91 per share, beating estimates, while revenue was $1.95 billion, below the forecasted $2.10 billion.

Bank of America lowered shares of KBR (NYSE:KBR - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $55.00 price objective on the construction company's stock, down from their prior price objective of $70.00.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on KBR. UBS Group lowered KBR from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $66.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. DA Davidson decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on KBR from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered KBR from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered KBR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.78.

KBR Price Performance

NYSE KBR traded down $0.18 on Wednesday, hitting $49.65. 1,135,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,417. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.74 and a 200-day moving average of $50.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. KBR has a 52 week low of $43.89 and a 52 week high of $72.60. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.76.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.03. KBR had a return on equity of 33.65% and a net margin of 4.52%. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. KBR's revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that KBR will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other KBR news, CEO Stuart Bradie sold 20,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.81, for a total transaction of $1,056,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 802,361 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,372,684.41. The trade was a 2.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of KBR

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of KBR by 21.6% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 8,585 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,524 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in KBR by 64.3% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,893 shares of the construction company's stock worth $330,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in KBR by 37.4% in the 2nd quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 288,340 shares of the construction company's stock worth $13,823,000 after acquiring an additional 78,510 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in KBR by 80.3% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 22,443 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,076,000 after acquiring an additional 9,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Scopia Capital Management LP raised its stake in KBR by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter. Scopia Capital Management LP now owns 1,169,184 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $56,051,000 after buying an additional 216,832 shares during the last quarter. 97.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.