Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 305,889 Shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR) by 14.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,416,531 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 305,889 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.81% of KBR worth $167,876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in KBR. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 2,029.2% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 39.4% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 454.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 3rd quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors own 97.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on KBR. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of KBR in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of KBR from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, October 6th. TD Cowen downgraded shares of KBR from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, September 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of KBR from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of KBR from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.14.

KBR Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:KBR opened at $58.47 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.79 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.84. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.60 and a twelve month high of $72.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69. The company’s 50 day moving average is $64.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.93.

KBR (NYSE:KBR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The construction company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.84. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.95 billion. KBR had a net margin of 4.35% and a return on equity of 28.87%. KBR’s revenue was up 10.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. Analysts anticipate that KBR, Inc. will post 3.27 EPS for the current year.

KBR Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. KBR’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.21%.

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.