KBR Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:KBR)

Key Points

• KBR saw unusually heavy options activity on Monday, with investors buying 6,106 put options — about 1,696% above the average volume of 340 puts.
• Insiders were buying shares: Director Thaer Lewis Von and CFO Shad E. Evans both purchased stock in May, increasing their holdings by 40.77% and 23.69%, respectively.
• The stock rose 7.3% to $32.24, while the company also reported a quarterly earnings beat and announced a $0.165 quarterly dividend, yielding about 2.0% annually.

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors bought 6,106 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,696% compared to the average volume of 340 put options.

Insider Buying and Selling at KBR

In other KBR news, Director Thaer Lewis Von purchased 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $30.77 per share, with a total value of $92,310.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 10,358 shares in the company, valued at approximately $318,715.66. This trade represents a 40.77% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Shad E. Evans purchased 8,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $30.60 per share, for a total transaction of $256,275.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 43,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,337,985. The trade was a 23.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KBR

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of KBR. Rokos Capital Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of KBR in the 1st quarter valued at $2,576,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in KBR by 1,031.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 61,682 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 56,232 shares in the last quarter. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the first quarter worth about $11,640,000. Engine Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of KBR by 1,129.3% during the first quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,531,313 shares of the construction company's stock worth $56,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of KBR in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.02% of the company's stock.

KBR Stock Up 7.3%

KBR stock traded up $2.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $32.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,579,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,538,774. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.16. KBR has a fifty-two week low of $29.94 and a fifty-two week high of $56.06.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The construction company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. KBR had a return on equity of 33.92% and a net margin of 5.21%.KBR's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.01 earnings per share. KBR has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.870-4.220 EPS. Analysts forecast that KBR will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. KBR's dividend payout ratio is 21.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on KBR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 lowered KBR from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of KBR from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut KBR from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on KBR from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, KBR currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.44.

About KBR

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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