KBR (NYSE:KBR) Shares Down 4% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• KBR shares fell 4% in Wednesday mid-day trading to about $37.35, on trading volume 39% below the average.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $44.83; recent target changes ranged from $41 to $50.
• KBR beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.12 versus $1.00 expected, while revenue of $2.03 billion slightly missed estimates and rose 5% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share.

KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $37.39 and last traded at $37.3450. 972,941 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 39% from the average session volume of 1,602,122 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.90.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on KBR shares. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of KBR from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KBR from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KBR from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of KBR from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of KBR from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $44.83.

KBR Stock Down 5.1%

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.42.

KBR (NYSE:KBR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.12. KBR had a net margin of 5.65% and a return on equity of 31.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.1650 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. KBR's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On KBR

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of KBR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the second quarter worth about $479,892,000. Engine Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of KBR by 1,129.3% in the 1st quarter. Engine Capital Management LP now owns 1,531,313 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $56,444,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,746 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC grew its stake in KBR by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,545,933 shares of the construction company's stock worth $54,355,000 after buying an additional 109,264 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in KBR by 29.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 919,397 shares of the construction company's stock worth $33,889,000 after buying an additional 211,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in KBR during the second quarter worth approximately $32,044,000. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About KBR

KBR, Inc. is a global provider of engineering, technology and professional services. The company serves government and commercial customers through two main businesses: Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions. Government Solutions supports defense, intelligence, space and civilian agencies with services that include mission support, logistics, science and technology, and operations and maintenance. Sustainable Technology Solutions provides engineering, consulting and project services for energy, chemicals and other industrial markets, along with technologies related to lower-carbon energy and sustainable products.

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