Vestcor Inc Takes $199,000 Position in KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,428 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $199,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 34,774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,014,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in KBR by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 317,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $18,421,000 after buying an additional 9,364 shares during the period. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. grew its position in KBR by 16.1% during the fourth quarter. Prosperity Financial Group Inc. now owns 6,623 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 918 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in KBR by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 38,567 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,234,000 after buying an additional 7,465 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in KBR during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,641,000. 97.02% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at KBR

In related news, insider Gregory Sean Conlon sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.59, for a total value of $961,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,214,134.47. This trade represents a 23.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

KBR Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KBR opened at $50.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.93. KBR, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $47.16 and a fifty-two week high of $72.60.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The construction company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.08. KBR had a return on equity of 28.87% and a net margin of 4.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that KBR, Inc. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

KBR Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is an increase from KBR’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on KBR shares. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of KBR from $72.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of KBR from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of KBR from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.88.

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.