Short Interest in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) Declines By 9.7%

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,770,000 shares, a decrease of 9.7% from the March 15th total of 1,960,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,340,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

KBR Price Performance

Shares of KBR traded down $1.09 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $61.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,150,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,323,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.95. KBR has a twelve month low of $49.37 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $60.07 and its 200-day moving average is $56.63.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.69. KBR had a positive return on equity of 25.08% and a negative net margin of 3.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KBR will post 3.2 EPS for the current year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from KBR's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. KBR's payout ratio is -29.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on KBR from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of KBR from $65.00 to $63.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of KBR in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. KeyCorp upped their price target on KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on KBR from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $72.29.

Insider Activity at KBR

In other KBR news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of KBR stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total transaction of $471,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 38,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,270,989.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of KBR

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIC Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KBR in the first quarter valued at $509,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its holdings in KBR by 38.0% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 134,475 shares of the construction company's stock worth $8,561,000 after acquiring an additional 37,034 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in KBR in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of KBR in the fourth quarter worth about $11,065,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of KBR by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,044,986 shares of the construction company's stock worth $722,823,000 after purchasing an additional 52,679 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.02% of the company's stock.

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.