California Public Employees Retirement System Raises Holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 834,360 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,918 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.62% of KBR worth $46,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its position in KBR by 113.6% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in KBR during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of KBR during the fourth quarter worth $69,000. Arlington Trust Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of KBR in the fourth quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale purchased a new stake in shares of KBR in the 3rd quarter valued at $128,000. 97.02% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at KBR

In related news, EVP Jennifer Myles sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.95, for a total value 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on KBR shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on KBR from $66.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded KBR from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of KBR from $80.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of KBR from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, KBR has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.43.

KBR Stock Performance

NYSE KBR opened at $65.30 on Friday. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.37 and a twelve month high of $65.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.95.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The construction company reported $0.69 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. KBR’s quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that KBR, Inc. will post 3.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. KBR’s payout ratio is presently -29.27%.

About KBR

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.